


The Sun, The Moon and Us

by FlyRobinFly



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Batman - Freeform, Canon, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Cute, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gift Giving, Ice Skating, Liam Dunbar is a Softie, Liam is Superman, Liam is day, Love, M/M, Necklaces, Pendants, Post Series, Snow Angels, Superman - Freeform, Theo Raeken is a Softie, Theo is Batman, Theo is night, Traditions, as far as I know anyways, mentions of comic book characters, snow devil, yin and yang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 21:51:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17129378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyRobinFly/pseuds/FlyRobinFly
Summary: Theo learns how to like Christmas... sort of.*Theo has been living with the Geyers and working on getting his GED. Liam didn't go off to college and is taking a gap year to figure things out (but mostly to be with Theo cause he cares about him). As the holiday season rolls around, Liam wants to Theo to have the best Christmas of his life.(I'm having a hard time coming up with a good description for this one. Sorry. I hope you'll read it anyways.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this little Christmas gift I've prepared for you Thiam shippers. It was fun to write and I hope you like it!
> 
> Merry Christmas!
> 
> Note: Some of the timing in the story might not be clear but don't worry about it. Most of the scenes are spaced out to make up for time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So you're welcome to use your imagination on the time frame if that really matters to you.

Liam’s relatives hadn’t stayed long for Thanksgiving. They wanted to go Black Friday shopping as soon as they could even if it meant waiting out in the cold all night long. Theo would never understand that but he didn’t complain when they said they had to leave.

It was awkward enough being a part of their family gathering in the first place. Sure, Theo lived with Liam and his parents now and they told him regularly that he was a part of the family now but he still felt like he was intruding at times. It was so weird being introduced to Liam’s family and getting hugged by complete strangers after they asked if he was Liam’s boyfriend which they both denied very hastily.

That wasn’t the most awkward part though. Once everyone was seated, Theo and Liam were already dishing up their plates, Theo even sneaking a bite of a roll, when Liam’s aunt insisted they give thanks. Theo looked like a deer caught in the headlights when Liam’s cousin, Kayla, sneakily grabbed onto Theo’s hand and smiled at him. He opened his mouth to announce to everyone that he was an atheist when Liam shushed him abruptly giving him ‘the look’. Theo begrudgingly bowed his head and held Liam and Kayla’s hands while Liam’s uncle prayed. He would admit, it wasn’t as weird as he thought it would be.

As soon as the early dinner was over, Liam’s Aunt Teresa was hounding on her husband that they were going to end up at the end of the line at Macy’s if they didn’t hurry up. Once they were gone, Theo helped himself to some dessert and sat on the couch in the living room. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Liam and his parents seemed to have disappeared but he didn’t really worry about it as he flicked on the TV and searched for something to watch.

A moment later, Jenna came into the living room to plop a rubbermaid on the floor. Theo watched as she opened it and started to put away all the fall and Thanksgiving decorations away. “Whatcha doin’?” Theo asked her finishing off the pie and ice cream he’d been so happily consuming.

“I’m getting ready to put up the Christmas decorations,” Jenna said as if it should be obvious and maybe to people who didn’t hate Christmas and weren’t atheists it should be. But Theo hated Christmas and was an atheist. “Come here. Why don’t you help me?”

Theo raised his eyebrows as Jenna looked up at her. “I’m an-”

“Enough of that ‘I’m an atheist’ crap,” Jenna said. “Get off your ass and help me, young man.”

Theo sighed before he obliged to her orders, setting his empty bowl in the coffee table before going to aid her in taking down decorations. A moment later, Liam and David came down the stairs carrying more rubbermaids and boxes. “What’s that?” Theo asked pointing.

David chuckled setting down the containers on the couch. “You thought Jenna went all out for Halloween. You ain’t seen nothing yet, Theo.” And then he left with Liam to go back upstairs and get more decorations.

Theo groaned as Jenna thrusted the container full of fall decorations into his arms and told him to follow Liam and David with it. He grumbled as he head towards the stairs behind Liam, “I hate Christmas.”

~~~

Turns out, decorating the house wasn’t the only thing Liam’s family did in preparation for that dreadful holiday of Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving, they all got into David’s old truck, that Liam drove on occasion, and headed to the forest to cut down a tree and bring it home. Theo didn’t understand why David drove so high up to get a tree when there were perfectly good trees closer to home but he was just a tag along; he couldn’t complain.

When they got out of the truck, his feet crunched in the snow. Maybe that was why Liam had suggested he wear boots instead of his regular tennis shoes. Theo stuck close to Liam, secretly seeping warmth off of him, and trailing not too far behind Liam’s parents as the two of them picked out the perfect tree and, inevitably, asked the two young men with supernatural abilities to cut it down and carry it to the truck.

“How long does it usually take for them to find the right tree?” Theo asked Liam as they crunched along the snow.

Liam shrugged. “Anywhere from an hour to five hours.”

Theo sighed in annoyance and huffed, shaking his head. “Great.”

Theo could practically feel Liam looking at him in confusion, in wonderment. “Why do you hate Christmas?” Theo’s head snapped to look at Liam with a glare. The boy was being genuine, he could tell. He just wanted to know and… it’s not like Theo really had anything to hide from Liam. Liam knew more about him than anyone else. “Is it because you’re an atheist?”

Theo looked forward, biting his lip as he thought about his answer. “It’s… only a little because of that, I guess.”

Liam had a smile on his face now. “You use it as an excuse to hate Christmas?”

Theo could only shrug in response. He hated being vulnerable. And Liam was so good at making him that way. He was so good at getting him to spill the beans on anything just by asking for the truth.

“Or maybe you’re an atheist because you hate Christmas,” Liam continued to pry.

“I’ve never had a good Christmas, alright,” Theo told Liam, looking at him seriously. “Ever since I can remember, Christmas has always been bad for me. When I was a kid I always heard about all those lies they tell you and it would give me hope, false hope. Because I wasn’t a good kid, Liam. Santa never brought me presents.”

“But, Theo,” Liam said stopping in his tracks, a smile growing on his face. “Santa isn’t real.”

Theo rolled his eyes and shoved Liam’s shoulder in annoyance and they kept walking, now trailing farther behind Liam’s parents. “My childhood Christmases were ruined because I never got any presents since I was a bad kid.”

“So it really has nothing to do with you being an atheist-”

“If God were real, then maybe something good would’ve happened to me when I was a kid,” Theo hissed bitterly. “Where the hell is God’s grace, huh? I did some stupid things when I was a kid but I never got any mercy. If God isn’t gonna show a little kid some grace, then I don’t want to believe in that kind of a lie.”

Theo quickened his pace before Liam could even try to argue with him or change his mind. But Liam wasn’t following him anymore. He’d stopped, watching Theo storm off, not even going the direction Liam’s parents were headed. Surely, Liam knew Theo had every right to believe what he wanted to believe. But he was wrong.

Liam remembered saving Theo from his own personal hell. He remembered being the very person that lent him a second chance. He even graced him with a home to live in. And when Theo had messed up, the few times that he did, Liam showed him mercy. The pack did too. Everyone did.

Liam didn’t understand why Theo was so convinced that there was no grace or mercy present in his life when he probably had more of it than most people did. But Liam wasn’t about to change that. He would continue to give it to Theo until Theo realized he had it. And that maybe it was a possibility that there was a god after all if grace and mercy were really things that God was supposed to give to humans.

It’s not that Liam wanted Theo to believe there was a god. He just wanted Theo to open up his mind a little more. Or maybe it was his heart he wanted opened up. If Theo could open up his heart a little bit, and Liam knew it was a lot to ask, he could probably help clean some of the old wounds that were there. And yes. Liam knew what a hard task this was going to be. He’d already been trying ever since he’d connected with Theo after the Anuk-Ite had been defeated. He was slowly warming his way in there and it was about time he started seeing some of the fruits of all his labor.

~~~

Liam pulled the piece of wood back over the wet cement, leveling it out. He’d been doing that all day long and he and the team of workers he was helping were nearly finished. At least with that part of the concrete finishing. He was still learning how to do it but after working with the more experienced people for about six months, he’d figured it out mostly.

After Liam had graduated, he felt a little lost. He didn’t want to go to college because he didn’t know what he wanted to do and… well, now there was Theo. Liam could only imagine how lost he felt. At least Liam had a family. All Theo really had was… well, him. And if Liam went off to college, Theo would be all alone to try and figure life out on his own. So when a family friend asked Liam if he was interested in a temporary concrete pouring and finishing job, he gladly took it.

It would be perfect. It would give him something physical to do and something to focus on other than Theo. Because, sure, he needed a gap year before he went to college to figure some things out and take a break. But more than that, he stayed for Theo. Theo, who was taking his GED test at the exact moment Liam was slaving away at the concrete.

He pulled the last of the concrete level and looked at his superior who was giving his work a critical eye. “Nice work, Dunbar,” he said patting Liam on the back. “You did that in good time too.” Before Liam could really bask in the glory of being the right man for the job, someone else was being called over to do the smoothing and he was stepping back to prepare for the next task.

He heard his phone vibrate on the workbench he’d left it on and bit his lip, hesitating before he jogged over and checked it. His boss hated it when they looked at their phones but it was going to be a minute before he was able to do anything else.

He found a new text from Theo telling him he’d finished his test and was going to drive by his job site if he wanted anything. Liam smiled as he sent a quick text asking for some water since he’d forgotten his and was practically dying of thirst after all that leveling he’d done. It took a while for both of them to get used to Theo doing nice things like that but after six months of it, it was to be expected.

Liam tossed his phone back on the workbench and joined his coworker in assembling the next tools they were going to be using. He was watching closely and satisfactorily as the joints were being cut into the concrete when he heard the only other younger person on the site, Jose, holler, “Hey, Dumbar! Your boyfriend’s here!”

Liam spun around, unaware of the fact that someone had been holding the handle of the smoothing tool right behind him, wacking his eyeball right into it. “Ow,” he said but he didn’t make it sound like it actually hurt. Liam covered his eye with his hand and watched with the other eye as Theo was making his way towards him. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Sure,” he heard Jose mumble sarcastically as he worked on clean-up duty, picking up whatever traces of cement were in the grass. What a tedious job.

Theo had a smirk on his face, no doubt because Liam had hurt himself. Liam put his hand at his side and squinted at Theo as he looked at him funnily. “What?”

Theo smiled and handed Liam a water bottle, the one Theo had filled for himself that morning but apparently hadn’t drank all of it yet. Liam gladly took the bottle and started drinking. Then Theo reached up to Liam’s face, poking at his eye with his thumb. “You alright there, little wolf?”

Liam ignored his mockery and asked a question of his own. “How did the exam go?”

Theo shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “OK, I guess.”

“When do you get the results?”

Theo had a hint of a smile on his lips now, a nervous smile. “The lady at the front desk said I would get an email in the next three to twenty-four hours.”

Liam raised an eyebrow passing the water back to him. “How do you think you did?”

“Oh. I’m confident that I passed,” Theo said cockily as he took his water bottle back from Liam which was now completely empty. “It was easy.”

Liam rolled his eyes. Classic Theo. Always a cocky asshole even if he was nice enough to bring water to a hardworking young man like Liam. “Thanks for the water,” Liam said, a smile still somehow finding its way onto his lips even though Theo had gone and made that dumb comment.

Liam started walking back to the rest of the crew to help with the next task but Theo called out to him. “When do you get off?” Liam turned his head to see Theo glaring at a chuckling Jose. “Of work. When do you get off of work?” Theo found himself doing a bit of self-correcting. He wouldn’t need to if Liam’s coworker wasn’t such an immature idiot.

Liam’s lip quirked up into a smirk as he shrugged. “When the job’s done.” As Liam turned around, he knew Theo was watching him. A part of him totally knew why Jose always referred to Theo as his boyfriend. Theo certainly looked at him like he was sometimes and it was a little misleading. Liam knew Theo did it just to give him a hard time at work, occasionally dropping by to drop things off for Liam. Things like the lunches Liam always seemed to forget his mom had prepared for him. And Theo was always sure to say very loudly that his mom left a note for him just to give them all another reason to tease him.

A few hours later, Liam was home, leaving his cement caked work boots outside where his mother told him they were never to pass. He was greeted by his mother with a hug and a kiss. “Hi, sweetheart. How was work?”

Liam stretched, surprising himself when his back popped. He cleared his throat and nodded. “It was good. Boss says we’re probably gonna have to stop for the year after this last job. Next week it’s supposed to start freezing overnight.”

“Well, that’s good,” Jenna says.

“No. I’ll be out of a job, Mom,” Liam said giving her a funny look.

“But I’ll get to have you home all day.” Jenna inched closer, raising an eyebrow as she said inconspicuously, “Besides, Theo needs some company. He’s been pestering me half to death the last two weeks.”

“I heard that,” Theo said from the couch that was across the front room.

Liam chuckled as he continued to remove his work clothes while his mom shouted back at Theo, “Well, honey, it’s true. I keep telling you that if you’re really hungry, you can learn how to cook for yourself but do you listen?”

“Mom, Theo just needs a mother hen like you to show him how to cook.”

“I tried that,” Jenna said. “But he kept turning off the Christmas music so I kicked him out of the kitchen.”

Liam bit his lip in order not to laugh. But he loved the way Theo and his mom bickered. It was like Theo did things on purpose just to get her attention. And, Liam would admit, Jenna was kinda fun to watch when she was annoyed by someone she loved. It wasn’t as satisfying as that grin Theo got when she chided him for being childish at times. It wasn’t evil in any sense of the word. It was… maybe a little mischievous but it was so bright and innocent at the same time.

“Why did you turn the Christmas music off?” Liam asked Theo.

“Cause I wanted to listen to the Country station,” Theo said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which it could have been. At least to Liam because Liam was the only person who knew about Theo’s secret love affair with Country music.

Liam looked at his mother. “How about a compromise? We listen to Country Christmas music.”

Jenna gasped. “I still have that Blake Shelton holiday album,” she said and put a hand over her mouth.

“See, mom? I knew I could figure something out,” Liam said as the woman hurried off into the kitchen to search for the album. He turned to Theo with a smirk. “You’re not the only one in this family with a thing for Blake Shelton, Theo.”

Theo still didn’t look amused in the least.

Liam laughed and walked over to Theo, grabbing his arms and pulling him to his feet. “Come on. Baking cookies is an essential Christmas experience and my mom is better at it than anyone else on the planet.”

“I highly doubt that,” Theo said as Liam pulled him into the kitchen and they were surrounded by the twangy sound off Blake Shelton singing Jingle Bell Rock. As soon as Liam let go of him, Jenna was grabbing up his hands and… dancing with him? “Liam, what is she doing to me?”

Liam turned from the sink where he was washing his hands and laughed at the sight of his mother penguin dancing with Theo. Jenna laughed too and pinched Theo’s cheeks. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a classic Scrooge, Liam.”

Theo looked at them confused. “Scrooge? What does that mean?”

“A Christmas Carol?” Liam offered. “I mean… it was a book and then it was made into like… a tone of movies-have you seriously never heard of Ebenezer Scrooge?”

“No.”

“Well, it looks like we’re gonna have to show it to you sometime, won’t we Liam?”

“Yeah. The question is, which version?”

“I like A Muppets Christmas Carol,” Jenna said.

“Yeah. The other ones are kinda creepy,” Liam said. “Especially that newer one.” Theo had no clue what they were talking about. But he wasn’t a big fan of the idea of sitting and watching an entire movie about Christmas. But before he could complain, Jenna was ordering him to wash his hands and get to work on baking.

They were off to a rough start but soon enough, they got the hang of it. While Jenna looked up another cookie recipe, Liam and Theo were cutting the cookie dough into the shapes of stockings and trees and snowmen. Liam and Theo were bickering when Liam’s phone started to vibrate against the counter. “It’s Mason,” he announced answering the supposed video call and waving through the phone at his friend. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Nothing much, man. Just taking a break from studying for finals to call my best friend. Corey’s here too,” Mason said angling the camera a bit to show his boyfriend cuddled up next to him.

“Hi, Corey,” Liam said. He turned around so that they could see Theo and his mom in the kitchen. “We’re making cookies.”

“Oh cool. Let me see,” Mason said. Liam obliged and turned the camera around to capture the cookies they’d just cut and Mason made a noise of approval. “Oh nice. Save the one shaped like a penis for me.”

Liam’s eyes widened. How had he not noticed? He glared up at Theo. “Theo!” He practically shoved the camera in Theo’s snickering face.

“It started out as a candy cane and I messed up so it just… became a dick.”

Liam rolled his eyes, turning the camera back around. “Guys, Theo hates Christmas.”

“What?!” Mason shouted.

“How could he hate Christmas?” Corey asked in an almost hurt tone.

“Because he’s a Scrooge,” Liam said.

“He is a Scrooge!” Mason agreed.

Liam opened his mouth to say something but suddenly a handful of flour was thrown right at his face. He coughed a little before he glared at Theo. “Why did you do that?”

“Oh. It wasn’t me,” Theo said completely serious. “It was my dick. You were just being way too sexy and… I couldn’t contain myself. I’m so sorry, Santa Baby.”

Liam glared at Theo, a bit of anger, legit anger, rising in his chest and he heard Mason snickering on the line. He wanted to launch himself over the counter and tackle Theo to the kitchen floor and rip him open. But instead… “Mom! Theo is being inappropriate!”

Jenna looked up from the recipe she was studying and sighed. “What?” When Liam motioned to the counter of cut cookies, she stepped over and took a look. Her gaze met Theo with a quirk of an eyebrow. “You better be planning on eating that cause no one else will.” With that, she went back to studying the recipe on her phone and searching the cupboards for ingredients.

Theo looked up at Liam who was pointing the camera at him so Mason and Corey could witness just what he had to deal with on a daily basis with this guy. “I can’t eat my own dick,” Theo said in a slightly hushed tone.

Liam rolled his eyes and looked down at the horror of a cookie he’d made. “If that’s how big your dick is, no one is going to want to eat it.” Liam saw Mason slap a hand over his own mouth to keep from laughing his ass off at his comment.

Theo took that as a challenge. “I bet I could get you to eat it.”

“I’m not gonna ea-”

“Alright, boys!” Jenna said. “Get those bad boys in the oven and let’s get started on the next batch. Come on. Say goodbye to Mason and Corey. I know they should be studying right now. Bye bye now.”

Liam sighed but he obeyed his mother and said goodbye to his friends. Theo even said goodbye. It was simply a little mumble while he added some extra dough to his special cookie but it was something.

They stayed up until ten O’clock at night making cookies and by then Liam was nearly a zombie he was so tired. Theo, though… well, Theo kept checking his phone. He was waiting for a response about his exam scores. Liam knew he’d played it cool and cocky when Liam had asked, but if he were really cool with it, he wouldn’t be checking his scores every ten minutes.

Liam grabbed Theo by the back of his shirt and start dragging him away from the kitchen and upstairs towards their bedrooms. “Come on. Checking every ten minutes isn’t going to make them appear any sooner.”

Once they got upstairs, Theo turned away from Liam to enter his room but Liam stopped him. “Hey.” Theo turned around and raised an eyebrow at Liam. Liam leaned his shoulder against the door frame of Theo’s room and looked into Theo’s eyes deeply. “So what did you think of tonight, huh? Was making Christmas cookies all that bad?”

Liam saw the twitch in Theo’s cheeks and the glint of hope in his eyes. There was still a hint of mischievousness in there but Liam suspected that was a permanent part of Theo and there was nothing wrong with that. It made him seem a little more innocent than he actually was. It was cute.

Theo bobbed his head a little. “I suppose it wasn’t all that bad. But I’m mostly looking forward to you eating my dick,” Theo said with perfect timing. Perfect timing because David had apparently gotten home and was walking right past them in the hallway.

The man halted and looked at Theo and Liam incredulously. “I’m sorry. Did you just say…”

Theo’s eyes widened. It was surprising he’d been off guard enough not to notice David coming before he’d said that. But that was good, right? It meant he was trusting enough to let his guard down, right? “Uh. David. No. I didn’t say… that. I said… I said-”

“David?” the man sassed. “If you said what I think you said, you better start calling me Dr. Geyer, son.” And then Dr. Geyer proceeded to give Theo a stare down. Literally, the only two people on the planet that could intimidate Theo were Mr. and Mrs. Geyer. And it never ceases to amaze Liam.

Liam could see the hint of a blush growing on Theo’s cheeks and the scent of anxiety, not horrible anxiety, fill the air between them. He cleared his throat. “Goodnight, Dad,” Liam said.

David’s eyes never once left Theo’s. “Goodnight, Mr. Raeken.” He finally turned to his son and smiled. “Goodnight, Liam.” And with one more glare at Theo, Dr. Geyer went off to bed.

Theo put a hand up to his heart and leaned with the other against the doorframe where Liam was leaning. “Crap. What the hell just happened?”

Liam chuckled. “That was him giving you a warning.”

“No. That was him misunderstanding what I was saying-”

“I’m pretty sure he understood what you were saying,” Liam countered.

“What? And I’m supposed to call him Dr. Geyer because I was talking about you eating a cookie?”

“Dude, you should see your face right now,” Liam said. “I didn’t know it was possible for you to get embarrassed and so nervous like that.”

Theo stood up straight and glared at Liam. “I’m going to bed.” After Liam stood there grinning at him for a second, Theo got irritated and shoved him out into the hall. “Goodnight,” he said slamming the door shut.

As Theo turned around and made his way further into his room, he heard Liam say, “Night, Scrooge.”

~~~

All was quiet. Liam was sleeping peacefully. Not for long though. Theo walked into his room like he owned the place and sat on Liam’s bed(on Liam’s legs). “Liam, wake up.”

Liam was already squirming underneath him and groaning. “Theo, what is the matter with you-”

“Look,” Theo said shining his phone into Liam’s face.

Liam whined and covered his eyes. “Oh my god. Just read it to me-”

“I passed,” Theo said. He was talking, not like he was over the top excited. He wasn’t being out of character. He was just talking to Liam like he normally does… in the middle of the night.

Liam sighed, sitting up and looking at Theo in the dark room. Had Theo really stayed up all night just to wait for his test scores? And had he really just barged into Liam’s room while he was asleep to tell him? “What?” Cause that’s all Liam’s stupid brain could come up with right then.

“I passed the test, Liam,” Theo said.

Liam smiled and patted Theo on the shoulder. “That’s great, man.” Liam yawned and leaned back on his elbows, still watching Theo. He seemed off, like something was bothering him. Something was wrong. “What is it?”

Theo sighed looking down at the floor at something. He shook his head with a shrug. “I mean… now what?”

Liam furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Well, this was my ultimate goal, right? As long as I was living here, I was supposed to be working on getting my GED. Which I’ve done…” Theo turned his head and looked at Liam. “Now what?”

Liam shrugged one shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”

Theo sat there anxiously on Liam’s bed. He let out a sigh as he nervously twiddled with his thumbs. “I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” he said weakly.

“You’re always gonna be welcome here, Theo,” Liam said. But he could see it wasn’t enough. Theo needed a bargain of sorts. “How about this time, you can stay until you learn to love Christmas?”

Theo scoffed and looked at Liam skeptically. “You really want to let me stay forever, don’t you?”

Liam sighed and shoved at Theo’s shoulder. “Go to bed.”

Theo sighed and looked out the window of Liam’s bedroom. The glow of outside was lighting his face, brighter than you would think the night would. His expression was soft despite the worry he’d shown just a moment before and the excitement and relief a moment before that. A faint smile grew on Theo’s lips.

“What?” Liam asked.

Theo turned his head and his lips quirked into a smile, one that actually seemed innocent and like maybe he was a normal kid. “It’s snowing,” Theo told Liam.

Liam quickly sat up, kicking his feet over the edge of his bed and patting across his room to look out his window. There in his front yard was easily a foot of snow and there was still more falling. Before he could even think otherwise, he grabbed his coat from his closet and started putting it on.

“What are you doing?” Theo asked him.

Liam sat on his bed to pull some socks up his legs, briefly looking up at Theo with a glint in his eyes. “Well, it’s snowing. You don’t expect me to just stay in bed now, do you?” The way Theo rolled his eyes was sweet. “Get your coat on.”

“I don’t have a coat,” Theo grumbled crossing his arms.

Gosh, he could be such a little kid sometimes. Liam chuckled as he hopped up and pulled a sweatshirt from his closet before draping it over Theo’s shoulders. He smiled. “Now you do.”

So Theo really didn’t have an excuse after that. They bundled up quickly before they headed outside, Liam pulling Theo by the hand and stopping at the first crunch of snow under his boots. It was quiet… so quiet. The only thing to be heard was their own breathing. There were no cars, no people talking in the distance.

Silence.

Beautiful silence.

Liam looked at Theo, that excited glint still in his eye. Theo squinted at him, raising an eyebrow when the boy looked up at the sky and opened his mouth sticking out his tongue. Theo snickered. “You know, you should really be on your knees when you do that with your mouth.”

Liam looked down to glare at Theo and smack him on the shoulder. “Eat the snow, Genius.”

By then, Theo knew that Liam always got his way. It didn’t mean that Theo always went along with everything he said right away but, in the end, Liam was always right. And sometimes, Theo didn’t put up a fight anymore. But that was very rare.

So there they stood in the front of Liam’s house, looking up at the sky that was glowing an orangish color as snowflakes floated down onto their tongues. At one point, Theo closed his eyes and that was when Liam closed his mouth and watched him. He looked a ridiculously like a normal human being and it was great. It wasn’t very often you could catch Theo looking like an idiot.

And maybe he looked a little stupid but at the same time… he looked so beautiful. Liam loved to cherish these moments, the moments when Theo would act like a child, at least in a good way. He cherished the moments when Theo wasn’t bound by the mistakes of his past to his guilt and shame. He loved it when Theo was able to let go and just be himself.

Before Theo could have a chance to defend himself, Liam was suddenly stepping on his foot and shoving him to the ground into a heap of snow. It was for no other reason than to have some fun. But, of course, Theo wouldn’t get that at first.

He looked up at Liam, confusion written on his face. “What was that for?”

The look on Liam’s face said it all. Fun.

And before Liam could have a chance to defend himself or run away, Theo kicked his feet out from under him and he landed on a cushion of snow next to Theo. Both of them laughed showing their joy with their eyes. Just when Theo thought he was in the clear, Liam took a handful of snow and smacked him in the face with it.

“Hey,” Theo whined as Liam got up and ran towards the street. He didn’t hesitate to get up and chase after him, tackling into him and sending both of them to slam into the ground there in the middle of the street. No cars were anywhere to be seen. Not even heard. The snow looked as if it hadn’t even been touched by a vehicle. It was so crisp and clean.

But Theo and Liam had ruined it.

Theo was laying on top of Liam, pinning him down in the snow. They could see their breathes mix in between them in the cold air. It looked like destiny. Theo could see inside of Liam’s eyes; there was something there for him, something he couldn’t really see but… he could feel it. It made Theo wonder if Liam could see something similar in his eyes.

And, in a way, he did. Liam could see something in Theo’s eyes. It was something new, something Liam knew Theo wasn’t very familiar with these days. There wasn’t a single word for it in the English language. Whatever it was, it was something good. And it was something Liam wanted to keep looking at. He wasn’t in a hurry to be distracted.

But Theo had other ideas. He stuck his hand in the snow just to the right of Liam’s head, as if he needed another place to prop himself up above Liam. For a moment, Liam could’ve sworn Theo looked like he was going to lean down and kiss him. And maybe he was. But, if he was, before he actually made a move, Theo scooped a pile of snow over Liam’s face causing the younger boy to sputter.

Theo giggled as Liam used his wolfiness to throw Theo off of him. Theo landed next to Liam with a huff of air knocking out of him but he still laughed. His laughing seized when he heard swishing in the snow and looked over to find Liam flapping his arms and legs up and down. “What are you going?”

Liam’s head poked up, an innocent little smile on his face. It was a beautiful smile, really. He hadn’t worn it very often until more recently. It made Theo feel better. He’d always be mad at himself for what he did to Liam and his pack in the past but when Liam smiled it made him feel better, like maybe what he’d done was forgivable.

“I’m making a snow angel,” Liam said. All that did was add even more innocence to his already unbelievably innocent appearance that night.

Theo snickered before he plopped back into the snow and mimicked his actions. The fact that they were in the middle of the road meant nothing to them. There were no cars running for miles. Even if there was, all Theo really wanted to listen to was Liam and his steady heartbeat. After a moment, Theo stood up and walked off the road without saying anything.

Liam sat up and watched at the Chimera plucked a twig off of a barren tree and trudged back. Liam raised an eyebrow as Theo used the stick to add some details to his snow angel. Liam stood up to get a better look and… of course, Theo had drawn a tail and some horns on his angel. Theo turned to face Liam with a smirk. “I made a snow devil.”

“Clearly,” Liam said shaking his head but still snickering. He grabbed a handful of snow, squishing it in his palms to test how well it stuck to itself. He patted the ball of snow in his hands while he grinned at Theo. “Do you want to build a snowman?”

Theo tilted his head, giving Liam a look like maybe he was getting ahead of himself. Or maybe Theo just didn’t want to build a snowman. Or maybe he was silently telling Liam he was an idiot. Or, the most likely possibility, all of the above.

“What?” Liam asked; though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the real answer.

“You’re not wearing any gloves,” Theo said gesturing to Liam’s hands. And sure enough, Liam looked down at his hands. They were bare and only slightly numb from the cold. Theo pointing it out was a bit of surprise if Liam were being honest. He didn’t expect Theo to care about something to inconsequential. If Liam were human, it would be slightly more understandable but he wasn’t human and having cold hands wouldn’t hurt him.

Liam wondered if Theo was trying to tell him something. Maybe Theo’s hands were cold. Chimeras were different than werewolves. It was possible that Theo’s body temperature didn’t run as high as Liam’s did. Heck, it was possible it ran even colder than regular humans. Who knew what the Dread Doctors had done to him?

“Yeah. You’re right,” Liam said dropping his handful of snow back on the ground and wiping his hands on his pants before stuffing them in his pockets. “We should probably go back inside and get some sleep.”

Theo smiled, not big and bright like he did sometimes, but it was still a real smile. Nodding, Theo was the first one to head back towards the house and Liam followed, a content feeling filling his chest. He’d get Theo to build a snowman with him eventually.

~~~

Theo was woken up very abruptly by Jenna alerting him that she was taking him shopping which he didn’t even question at first. He was all groggy from sleeping in after the little adventure he’d had with Liam the night before. He vaguely gave Jenna some semblance of an agreement to go shopping.

He sat up and smiled at the memory of thrashing around in the snow with Liam the night before. He wasn’t sure if the snow itself was what made him smile. It was probably the fact that he’d snuck out in the middle of the night with Liam to play in it. He wondered if Liam’s parents knew. Would the snow angles and prints in the snow give it away?

Theo was confused when Liam didn’t come with them. He figured it was another one of those essential Christmas pass-times that Theo just had to experience. But when Jenna was pulling Theo out the door, Liam was just rolling out of bed and into the living room looking like he’d been eaten by a whale and then vomited up again like he usually did in the morning.

“Have you driven in the snow before?” Jenna asked Theo once they were in his truck, buckling up.

Theo shrugged sheepishly a little. “Well, it usually doesn’t snow this much here so… no?” He started his truck and flipped a switch on the front panel before he grinned at Jenna, ironically, like a kid on Christmas morning. “That just means I get to see what it’s like in four-wheel-drive.”

There were multiple times on the way to the store that Jenna screamed and told Theo to slow down and stop playing around in the snow. At one point, he ended up in a ditch but he was able to get out just fine on his own. The truck was OK but he wasn’t. Jenna smacked him and sassed him out for messing around. She may be human but her punches hurt as bad as Liam’s did.

“So I know you’re new to Christmas in the Geyer household so I’m here to help you pick out Christmas presents for Liam and David.” The words were like poison to Theo’s ears. His shoulders tensed up and his wolf wanted to put his ears back. Presents made Christmas so awkward. But it would be worse if he argued with Jenna so he didn’t.

Theo was a bit overwhelmed as she rambled on about all the things that ‘the boys’ would want for Christmas. He was a bit confused as to why Dr. Geyer was now one of ‘the boys’. He thought she’d always referred to him and Liam as ‘the boys’.

Apparently, Jenna was buying David a meat smoker because he’d been talking about how he wanted to start smoking meats eventually. She told him that he was going to be getting him the accessories to the whole deal. Theo didn’t even know what that meant. He just watched as she waved some items in front of his face and said things like, “Oh, David would love this,” and “this would go wonderfully with the present I’m getting David.”

In the midst of her talking, Theo stumbled upon a ridiculous coffee mug and chuckled. “Hey, look at this,” he said showing it to Jenna. It was a coffee mug designed after a prescription bottle and, if Theo had learned anything about Dr. Geyer during his stay at the Geyer’s home, it was that the man needed his coffee. He couldn’t count the times he’d been sent to the store late at night because Jenna had forgotten to get his coffee, which he is very picky about, when she’d run her errands.

Jenna giggled and put it in the cart that she was pushing around. Theo followed her around the store like a little puppy. Once she felt like she’d gotten what she needed for her husband, she looked at Theo. “Normally I would get Liam something that has to do with LaCrosse but… he’s not exactly playing LaCrosse anymore. And he’s starting to grow out of playing video games, not to mention, he’s starting to grow out of all of his clothes.”

Theo had noticed that. Not that he was complaining about Liam’s clothes being a little tight. Especially, his jeans. Theo shook his head at the thought. What was he thinking? Liam was like… his friend? Right? He shouldn’t be thinking about his ass.

But he was now and there was no stopping.

“My point is, Theo,” Jenna said. “Liam lacks a decent sense of fashion.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Theo agreed.

“But you make up for what he lacks,” Jenna said motions to Theo’s attire. He looks down at himself, noting the put-together look he’d somehow managed to achieve even with all the rushing out the door that morning. He knew for a fact, Liam would’ve come to the store looking like a total mess.

“I do,” Theo said without any modesty what-so-ever. He was going to own it. It’s not like he had a ton of skills in the first place.

“I just feel like I might be a little too… old to know what would pass off as nice clothing these days,” Jenna said. “I need a young person’s expertise.”

Theo smiled. “Mrs. Geyer, you’re not old.” He loved to kiss ass. “But I would love to be of help if it means burning all of Liam’s old clothes after all of this.” Theo helped Jenna find some things, running them by her to get a second opinion which was kinda pointless because she liked everything.

Theo always thought Liam would pull off a leather jacket quite nicely. He also thought he’d look good in a leather jacket himself. And, if he were being honest, he borrowed a lot of Liam’s clothes anyways. Theo looked down at his outfit. Maybe it was best if he kept all of the clothes versatile so that no matter how Liam decided to throw his clothes on that day, it looked like an actual outfit.

When Jenna went to pick out underwear for Liam, Theo shook his head when she went for the plain, boring boxers. He took the plain ones out of her hands and replaced them with the ridiculous looking Christmas ones. “I can’t get those for Liam,” Jenna said.

“Why not? They’re funny.”

Jenna pointed at the back where it showed what the boxers said. Things like: ‘Who’s your Santa?’ and ‘jingles balls’ which made Theo start laughing as he put it in the cart. “I need to get these for Liam.”

Jenna sighed and shook her head. “You two certainly have weird senses of humor.” Theo noticed there was also a pack of boxers that was labeled ‘sexy’. He picked it up to read it but Jenna snatched it away and put it back. “You’re not getting him sexy underwear, Theo. That’s just weird.”

“I was just looking at it. I was curious.”

“No more looking at it. Come on,” she said dragging him away to go pay for the items that they’d found. Finally, they were done shopping and Theo couldn’t be happier. Shopping was the worst. And just when Theo thought he was in the clear, Jenna had to go and point out that there was a Bizzare just down the road, whatever that is, and that she needed to get a few trinkets for extended family and friends.

Theo was just about fed up with her but he persevered and took her to the Bizarre which was full of a bunch of women, mostly older ones, and he felt very out of place and outnumbered. He wasn’t sure how he managed to lose Jenna in the crowd but he did.

He hated being in the center of the crowd so he moved towards the nearest edge and found himself wandering into a temporary shop. It was small but much less crowded. Little pendants hung all around him, even above him on PVC pipes and fishing line. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of them.

“Handmade,” a voice said from the corner of the booth. Theo’s eyes met with a man, somewhat earthly looking, bearded and a little on the older side. “Each one is crafted to look uniquely different from the next.”

Theo shoved his hands in his pockets, instinctively checking for his wallet after being in such a large crowd. “You make them?”

“Some,” the man said, voice low and baritone. “Have a couple of friends who make them too. My wife is the one who designs them. We just put them together.”

Theo looked all around him. It was true. Each one was uniquely different. Some of them were stone, colorful and exciting. But some of them were just made of metal and had shapes and figures pressed into them. What intrigued him the most was a wall of wolf pendants. “You like wolves?” Theo asked turning to look at the man.

He nodded. “Wolves are beautiful creatures.”

Theo couldn’t disagree with that. Wolves were very beautiful. In some ways, they were even human-like. They thrived when they worked together and lived together as a pack. But on their own, a lone wolf was as good as dead. Theo knew from experience. He still didn’t really have a pack but he had Liam and Liam was all he really needed. He still wished he could have a pack though.

Theo looked closer at some of the wolf pendants. Lots of them were of wolves howling or even a wolf with a crescent moon. Some were of a wolf running. Or just a face. Even a paw. But the one that caught Theo’s attention was a circular pendant, rustic looking on a black cord.

He picked it up off the wall and examined it closer. From afar it would look like a YinYang sign but up close one would see two wolves, a dark one and a lighter one. Chasing each other’s hearts, the sun and the moon.

The Sun.

The Moon.

Theo felt something inside of him clench at the thought of Liam. It was such a Liam thing.

The Sun. The Moon.

It bore an uncanny resemblance to the two of them. Yin and Yang. Just the night before was an example of that. Liam had gone and made a snow angel because that’s what he was, an angel, after all. But Theo, he turned his into a devil, the little devil. And there they were in that pendant, chasing each other’s hearts. Their hearts that were the moon and the sun.

The more Theo thought about it, he realized Liam’s heart was like the moon in ways. It had a pull on Theo in ways no one else ever had. It made him Do crazy things like bake cookies and play in the snow in the middle of the night and even stress over passing a GED exam.

He knew Liam’s flaws, the darkness that was there, his struggles, but what shined brighter than that was him, things like his smile, his pure… heart. Liam’s heart was so pure, so innocent.

Looking at the heart of his wolf, Theo wasn’t sure how accurate it was that his heart was like the sun. But maybe his heart was. Maybe it was his sister’s heart that was the problem. Maybe his heart was what was so strong and blindingly bright like the sun and having it replaced is what dimmed it, what eclipsed his heart.

Theo huffed at himself for thinking something so ridiculous. It sounded like a cheesy love song. But that pendant still belonged to him and Liam so he naturally had to purchase it and keep it safe until he felt like he could talk to Liam about it.

Theo wandered around some more, less off-put by the crowds now that he’d been able to wind down in the pendant shop. There were a lot of interesting things to be seen. It was better than a regular store. Everything was so original, so unique. But a bit spendy, if he were honest. “Oh. There you are, Theo! I’ve been looking for you. Come on. I’ve got what I need. Let’s go home and have some lunch. Hopefully, Liam is dressed by now.”

~~~

Much later in the evening, Liam’s mother had started a game of Pictionary with the boys and Dr. Geyer. After about half an hour, David got called in for an emergency surgery and had to leave. So Jenna dragged the boys into the kitchen and started making some frosting for the cookies they’d baked the night before.

“First, you have to make an outline with the thicker frosting and then you fill it in with the-” Jenna smacked Liam’s dirty little fingers away from the bowl of frosting before he could get any closer. “Fill it in with this icing.” She went on to talk about how to decorate the cookies, mostly talking to Theo because Liam had already received that lesson about seventeen times over the years.

Theo grabbed a mitten-shaped cookie and had the tube of frosting all lined up and everything when Jenna chided him. “What?” he asked in an annoyed tone. “I was doing what you were telling me to.”

Jenna put his special, penis-shaped cookie in front of him. “You have to do that one first. That way you can eat it sooner and none of us have to look at it any more.”

Liam started laughing at Theo, snatching the mitten he’d chosen and decorating it himself. Theo rolled his eyes and shook his head. “The joke is on you, Liam, because I’m not the one who’s going to be eating it.” Then he smugly started to put the icing on the cookie, doing a bit of a messy job but it was good for a beginner.

“Why is it green?” Liam asked.

Theo glared at him. “Because there’s no pink frosting.”

“You could have mixed red and white,” Liam said earning a smack on the back of the head from Jenna, telling them to stop goofing around and being disgusting. The boys snickered a little and Liam said quietly, “It’s a greenis.”

Theo sputtered a bit of laughter out of his lips and moved his hand to give himself a face-palm, not realizing there was frosting on his hand. He groaned and wiped at the green coloring that was now staining his face. “Oh man. I got greenis on my face.”

“Greenis?” Jenna asked surprise or something in her tone.

“Grinch penis,” Theo responded.

“What?” Liam said in a higher pitched voice. “Dude, it was green penis.” That only caused all three of them to start laughing their asses off for the next few minutes, not being very successful with their cookie decorating.

Also, of course, Liam sent Mason a picture. And later, a video of Theo feeding the cookie to him.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later…

After more lazing around with each other, Theo and Liam were sent on an errand. Liam’s mother had picked up some donations for the animal clinic and needed them to drop it off. And Liam wasn’t opposed to wishing Deaton a Happy Holidays either. And Theo was happy to make Liam freak out while he drove like crazy in the snow.

Liam plopped the box of donations which consisted of pet food, towels, blankets, cleaning supplies, etc. on the back counter that Deaton had motioned to using a full syringe of deworming formula. Deaton and Liam’s mother were in cahoots so she always knew what was running low at the clinic.

“Thanks, Liam,” Deaton said. “Your family’s contributions mean a lot to all the little critters that come in to see me.”

“No problem,” Liam said smiling.

“I just got a batch of kittens last week. You wanna see them?”

Liam couldn’t deny that it sounded like an offer he couldn’t reject. “I mean, I would love to but don’t cats like…” Liam looked at Theo and raised an eyebrow. “... hate werewolves?”

Deaton chuckled and shook his head leading them into the back room where a box of kittens was. “Cats don’t like Scott is what the problem is,” Deaton said. “Even before Scott was a werewolf cats were always trying to kill him. I don’t know why. He’s a nice guy but cats will like who they will.”

Liam saw the way Theo was practically standing behind him as if to shield himself from the kittens. Liam peeked over the edge of the box and smiled. “Wow. They’re so cute.”

“You guys wanna give feeding them a shot? They were orphaned by there mother so they have to be fed a formula,” Deaton explained holding up a little dropper and giving Liam and Theo questioning looks.

Liam didn’t even hesitate. “Yeah.” With that, Deaton dismissed himself to go whip up a batch of formula and left them with the kittens. Liam immediately picked one up and started coddling it and scratching its tiny head with his big, calloused fingers.

Theo watched amused from his spot behind Liam. Liam turned to face him and shove the kitten in Theo’s hands. Theo’s shoulders tensed up as Liam left him with a kitten and spun around to grab another. The next thing Theo knew, Liam was trying to pile as many kittens as he could on him and it was making him nervous. “Liam, stop. I can only hold so many.” He whimpered as he scrambled to grab hold of a kitten before it jumped out of his arms. “They won’t stop moving, Liam.”

Liam giggled at Theo’s expense, pushing him backwards gently until he fell into a chair in the corner of the room. Theo’s eyes were now glowing as he glared at Liam threateningly as the boy pulled out his phone and aimed the camera at him. “Now come on, Theo. Do you really want me sending this picture to everyone I know if you’re making that ugly face?”

Theo glared for another minute before he put away his wolfishness and relaxed a little, still not all the way though. He was nervous about being around all those tiny, easily broken souls that were literally in his hands. Well, now they were crawling all over him, up and down his chest, between his shoulders and across his lap.

After Liam got enough pictures of Theo being a total grump around probably the cutest living things on the planet, he pocketed his phone and started taking some of the kittens and putting them back in the box, leaving Theo with just one.

Now one Theo could handle. Half a dozen was far too many for one guy to keep track of. The kitten that Theo held was all kinds of colors. Mostly black and white but there were spots of orange and brown and grey mixed into her coat as well. She had the brightest blue eyes ever, almost as bright as Liam’s were when they sparkled with hope and innocence.

When Deaton returned, he visited with Liam as the three of them fed the kittens with little droppers. Theo didn’t talk much though. He just held the one kitten, the kitten that looked like a S’more. She had all the black and white fluffiness of a burnt marshmallow and even the orangish color of the graham crackers. He didn’t even realize when he was holding her up to his face and making kissy faces at her that he was being watched.

Before he knew it, S’mores was asleep just below his shoulder, snuggled against his chin and he couldn’t go anywhere. Liam looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Find a new friend, did you?”

Theo crossed his arms and pursed his lips. “Of course, I did. Everyone loves me.”

Liam continued to look at him with that odd smile, an amused smile. But it was more than amused. It was admiring which confused Theo a little. He couldn’t really think of the last time some looked at him with admiration. He definitely hoped his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. He cleared his throat and carefully took the kitten in his hands as he stood up. “I should go warm up the truck.”

Theo placed her gently in the box with the rest of her family and pet the top of her head with his finger. “Bye, Marshmallow kitty.” Theo then left before Liam could tease him for bonding with the little kitten so easily. Liam knew very well how hard it was for someone to worm their way into Theo’s heart and there was no doubt Liam would make fun of his soft spot for a kitten that reminded him of a campfire dessert.

Once Theo was outside, Liam and Deaton had a laugh. “You know, kittens make a great Christmas present. I can save this one if you think someone might be interested.”

Liam smiled a toothy grin. “You know, Deaton. I think I might take you up on that offer,” Liam said eyeing the door that Theo had just exited from. “It’s not very often Theo goes all soft for someone.” He crossed his arms, leaning against the counter, thinking about it.

Liam had kinda forgotten that he needed to get Theo a present. The problem was, Theo really didn’t have much of anything but he also seemed like he didn’t need a lot. When it came to ‘stuff’ he was pretty content with what he had. That was probably because he’d never had a lot, to begin with. And now, if he needed something, all he had to do was mention it and one of Liam’s parents would pull strings to get it.

At first, Theo didn’t even know what to do about it. He even lost sleep over it. Liam knew his parents meant well by providing for him but it was overwhelming Theo. He wasn’t used to getting things for free. Liam could remember the night he had to give his parents the talk about letting Theo do things for himself and he was so grateful for how understanding they were. From then on, they only got things for Theo if he asked which wasn’t often.

Liam wondered how well Theo would handle getting things on Christmas. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad since everyone else was getting things as well. And maybe getting Theo a kitten wouldn’t be so bad either. “Yeah. I’ll have to think about that,” Liam told Deaton after all this thinking. “Thanks.”

Liam left after saying goodbye to Deaton and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Joining Theo in the car, he was met with a smiling Chimera, one that seemed a little more on the happy side than Liam was familiar with. “What?”

Theo shrugged and shook his head. “Nothing.”

“What?” Liam asked again, more serious even with a squinty face.

Theo rubbed his hands together and breathed on them to get them warm, even as the truck was starting to heat up. Liam was beginning to believe his hunch about Chimera’s being colder than werewolves to be true. He should’ve asked Deaton. “Do you think he’d let us go back in and feed them later this week?”

Liam smiled, trying not to make it obvious that Theo’s soft spot for the kitten had hit Liam’s soft spot for Theo. “Probably. I didn’t ask.” Liam watched as Theo tinkered with the radio. “That one you were holding was pretty cute, huh?”

Theo smiled. “She looked like a S’more.”

“A S’more?” The sheepish look on Theo’s face said it all. Not very often did Theo let the vulnerable parts of himself show and Liam was never really going to make him feel bad about it. That would only make his ultimate goal harder. So he nodded. “OK. S’mores it is.”

~~~

A few days later…

Mason and Corey showed up in Beacon Hills. The reunion of the friends was a but much. Liam and Mason were making so much noise and wouldn’t stop hugging each other. All Theo and Corey could do was stand there and watch in amusement.

“This is just the beginning,” Corey warned Theo. “The rest of the pack will be here by tomorrow probably.”

Theo nodded, a blank face. Theo wasn’t too sure how he felt about the rest of the pack being there for Christmas. It wasn’t that the pack being there was a bad thing. It was mostly that Theo still wasn’t particularly liked by the pack very much and he’d probably end up staying home with Liam’s mom while Liam was off doing things with his pack.

He couldn't blame Liam for it. It was in his nature to want to be with his pack. It’s just that Theo liked it when they weren’t there because he was the only option Liam had for friends. With them there, Liam had a lot of people to choose from and Theo doubted he was on the top of the list.

Somewhere in the midst of Liam and Mason shouting at each other and tripping in the snow multiple times, Mason blurted out, “We’re all going ice skating, Liam. Scott said we have to go. You have no excuses.”

“OK,” said Liam, a bit of a snicker in his voice. “But only so I can see you and Corey falling on your asses all night.”

Theo scoffed. “Yeah. I bet they’d fall half as many times as you will.”

Liam furrowed his brows at Theo and pointed at him. “I bet you’d get frostbite.”

Theo crossed his arms, tucking his cold hands into his arms pits and glaring at Liam. “Chimera’s can’t get frostbite.” Liam leaned down and packed a ball of snow together before throwing it at Theo, hitting him in the neck. “Hey!”

“Frostbite that,” Liam challenged him. Liam’s eyes widened when he saw a flash of yellow in Theo’s eyes. “Shit.”

The next thing he knew, Theo was tackling him to the ground and they were wrestling. He should’ve known this would happen. Why were they always finding themselves in this position? With Theo on top of him, straddling him but also trying to choke him? Liam hoped that thought would never get taken out of context.

Mason and Corey took a step back not wanting to get involved in the dogfight. “Is this normal? Should we intervene? Do I need to call the cops?”

Mason’s question was answered when he heard Theo sputtering out some laughter as he piled snow on top of Liam’s face, making the other boy spit and coughed, desperately trying to battle Theo off of him. He played it a little dirty when he took the groin shot. “Ow!” Theo let out a guttural whine when Liam turned the tables, slamming him into the snow. Now, what was he supposed to do?

They both turned their heads when the front screen door slammed against the house. “Boys! Would you stop roughhousing? You’re too old for that.”

“Sorry,” they said in unison, getting up from the ground and dusting the snow off of themselves. Jenna ordered them to come inside and get warm while they ate some cookies and drank some cocoa. Theo was the first to trudge his way inside, only giving more evidence that Liam’s theory about Chimera’s was true.

Liam felt Mason and Corey looking at him and he stiffened before he followed Theo inside. He knew what they were thinking. And it bugged the hell out of him. At least Mason did. Corey wasn’t that bad because he wasn’t obnoxious but Mason? Mason was the kind of person who would call him out and tell him to get his act together because he was his best friend.

Liam had heard it all before too. Mason knew him too well.

Sure enough, the moment Liam and Mason were alone in Liam’s room, he brought it up. “So…” Mason said with that look in his eyes. “You and Theo, huh?”

Liam sighed and looked at Mason with his eyebrows up high and his arms crossed giving off the ‘are you really going to do this to me right now?’ vibe.

Mason shrugged. “What? I’m just curious. As your best friend, I thought you’d be willing to talk about it. Apparently, I was wrong. My bad.” Mason got all sassy and put his hands up in mock defense.

Liam sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Mase, I would talk to you about it except I’m not really sure what ‘it’ is.-”

“I know what it is,” Mason said. “You need me to explain it to you.”

“No, please just drop it,” Liam said, more like begged.

“I’m mad, Liam,” Mason declared.

“Why are you mad? I didn’t do it on purpose,” Liam insisted.

“I’m mad because of all those years you went around insisting that you were not into guys at all and, here you are, falling for Theo, of all people. I’m mad, Liam. You make me mad,” Mason said. Although, his tone wasn’t all that angry. Mason wasn’t as good at getting angry as Liam was.

“I wasn’t mad at you when you came out to me. How is this any different?”

Mason gasped and put his hand up to his heart. “Liam, I remember very distinctly, you went as far as punching me in the face.”

Liam cringed sheepishly at the memory. It wasn’t really that he was mad when Mason came out to him. It just scared the hell out of him and he had no idea what to do so he just got angry. But then he cried and hugged Mason, telling him it was ok and that he was sorry for punching him in the face.

“You owe me,” Mason said pointing a finger at him.

Liam sighed and tilted his head to the side before offering. “You wanna punch me in the face?”

Mason scoffed. “I would love to punch you in the face but the problem is, it won’t hurt enough because of your stupid werewolf powers.”

Liam tightened his jaw, looking around his room and spotting an old baseball bat. Why the hell was he even going to offer this? Because Mason was his best friend. That’s why. And Liam deserved it for all that lying he did to Mason over the years. He walked over and grabbed the baseball bat and held it up to Mason. “You wanna give this a swing?”

The look on Mason’s face was priceless. His eyes went wide and a faint gasp entered his lungs. “Liam, I’m not going to hit you with a baseball bat. That’s just gruesome.”

“You said punching me wasn’t good enough-”

Mason interrupted Liam by wrapping him in a tight hug. “Liam, shut up,” Mason ordered putting a hand behind Liam’s head and pressing his best friend’s face into his shoulder. “I always knew, ok? That’s why it always bugged me when you lied.” Mason stepped back to find Liam, looking more vulnerable than he had when this whole thing had started. “It’s ok to be scared.”

Liam shrugged and looked at Mason sadly. “I’m not scared of being gay, Mason.” Mason raised an eyebrow. “I’m scared of being in love with someone who might not love me back.” Liam took a deep breath, an unsteady one, and released it. “I’m also a little scared of how people are going to react, not about me liking guys but…”

“About you liking Theo,” Mason finished.

Liam hesitated, nervously rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. “Yeah,” he finally admitted.

“Well, I have to admit, he is very good looking and can be extremely charming but he’s evil and…” Mason bobbed his head in consideration. “I guess it’s ok to be attracted to bad guys. I mean, I went through a bad boy phase once-”

“I remember,” Liam said with a bit of snicker in his voice. “You’re still obsessed with Jared Leto. I honestly don’t see how anything has changed.”

“I fell in love with the opposite of a bad boy,” Mason said.

“Corey is soft.”

“He is so soft,” Mason said.

“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Theo is soft too,” Liam said like he was trying to convince Mason he wasn’t crazy for falling for the Chimera. He didn’t know why he was even trying though. Mason had an obligation to his own boyfriend, Corey, who was once a victim to Theo’s wrath when he was a Psychopath. Who was he kidding? They were all victims of him at some point. Theo’s impact on the McCall pack had changed all of them for better or worse.

Maybe he was crazy for falling for Theo.

~~~

“Are you coming?” Liam asked Theo. He was getting ready to go ice skating with the pack, bundling up to fight against the cold weather.

Theo, if he was being honest, didn’t want to go. He hated the idea of being around the pack. They always made him anxious. He always felt unwelcome around them. And it wasn’t necessarily because they were rude. Most of them were very civil with him. But there was just so much he’d done to them, so many things he had to feel guilty about.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Liam told Theo. Of course, Theo wouldn’t even have to say anything to Liam about it. He already knew. Liam knew that kind of stuff about him. “But I would really like it if you came,” Liam continued making Theo’s heart sink a little. “Not to be with the pack cause I know that’s not really your thing, but to be with me.”

Theo sighed in defeat. Liam knew how to twist his arm.

Turns out ice skating was just as hard as hanging out with the McCall pack. Theo managed to get out on the ice and stay steady for a moment, Liam fumbling behind him. The moment, Liam got to Theo’s side, he slipped and felt, kicking Theo’s feet out from under him and taking him down.

Theo may have gone ice skating to spend time with Liam since that’s what the beta had asked for but, in reality, he spent a lot of time avoiding contact with him because he was incredibly clumsy.

Theo had to admit, watching Liam struggle was always a delight.

He was sliding backwards on his skates, getting the hang of them when Liam fell on his ass causing Theo to laugh. Karma had its way with him though. He practically did a back flop onto the ice, knocking his head on the ice. He hissed and cradled his head before he noticed a figure standing above him.

Scott.

Theo felt a wave of… a bad feeling swoll up in his heart. He sat up. “Hi, Scott.” He did what he could to shove that feeling away. He knew there was no point in having that feeling. It was all in his head… but, at the same time, only in his heart.

“Sup, Theo,” the alpha said reaching a hand down towards the chimera.

Theo felt his insides flinch a little at the gesture. He knew, logically, that Scott was offering to help him up but his instincts just wanted to prove him wrong. He took Scott’s hand adjusting himself to get ready to stand and as soon as he put the slightest amount of weight on Scott’s body, both of them went toppling down onto the ice.

But it wasn’t Theo’s fault. Someone had rammed into them. Theo poked his head up to find Liam laying half on top of Scott’s lower body. “Sorry,” Liam said scrambling to get up on his hands and knees.

Scott chuckled. “It’s harder than it looks, isn’t it?”

Liam only smiled as he attempted to stand again. “I don’t think it’s that hard. I think I’m just really bad at-” Liam slipped and fell again. This time his head landed inches away from the blade of Theo’s skate.

Theo pulled his feet away from Liam’s horror-stricken face and declared, “Alright, pup. We’re done. Come on.” Theo helped Liam onto his hands and knees. “Don’t even try to stand up this time. Just stay on your hands and knees.”

“OK,” Liam obeyed.

As the two of the crawled towards the edge of the ice skating rink, Scott followed, laughing a little when Liam tried to stand again only to get shoved back to his knees by Theo. “Stay down.”

Theo up as Scott skated passed them towards the gate, towards someone.

Malia.

Theo froze in place, tempted to turn around completely and take the far exit instead. But when Liam stopped crawling and looked back at him, he decided that maybe he should just keep moving. It was when Liam looked forward and saw Scott hugging Malia as the gate that Theo finally kept going.

They finally reached the edge of the rink and climbed out, hobbling over to a bench. As they unlaced their skates, Liam made Theo an offer. “You wanna get out of here?”

Theo squinted his eyebrows at him in confusion. “You’re the one who wanted to come here in the first place, Liam.”

Liam shrugged. “Yeah… but I want you to have fun too.”

Theo chuckled as he kicked off his skates and brought a foot up at a time to massage some warmth into them. “I am having fun,” he said. And it wasn’t a lie. It had been fun watching Liam fall a few dozen times on the ice. The only not-fun part was getting anxious around the pack.

“Theo,” Liam whined his name, with an exasperated sigh.

Theo lowered his head and avoided looking Liam in the eyes as he put on his boots-Liam’s boots. He knew what Liam was thinking about. He was thinking about how Theo wouldn’t defend himself anymore, not against the pack at least.

Not long after the Anuk-Ite had been defeated, Stiles gave him a beating. And Theo didn’t even lift a finger. He just took it. And the same thing happened whenever he pissed off Malia or, again, Stiles. Not many of the other pack members hated him enough to beat him up but Liam knew if any of them tried, Theo wouldn’t fight back because he believed he didn’t deserve the right to fight back.

Liam wasn’t sure what made him angrier: the fact that the pack actually wanted to beat Theo up even when he doesn’t fight back, the fact that Theo refuses to fight back, or the fact that he ends up being the one who has to defend Theo instead of Theo doing it himself.

It was probably all three.

Theo finally looked up at him. “I want you to be with your pack, Liam. It’s OK if I’m not having the greatest time. Besides, Stiles just fell and I’m pretty sure he got a concussion so that just made this whole thing worth it.”

Liam furrowed his brows and looked back into the rink. Sure enough, Scott and Malia were dragging the nearly limp for of Stiles’ body out of the rink. He chuckled. “Dang, I’m sorry I missed it.”

Liam wasn’t a fan of Stiles either. He was always a bit of a jerk to him. And then he started… liking Theo? Who was not a fan of Stiles either? Liam had no idea what Scott or Lydia or anyone really saw in the guy.

Scott and Malia placed Stiles down on the bench across from Liam and Theo. “Maybe ice skating wasn’t the best idea,” Scott said, thinking aloud. Everyone in their presence made a grunt of agreement as the rest of the pack, Mason, Corey, and Lydia started to make their way back to dry land.

It was when they were all together that Theo really felt out of place. He was the oddball, the one who still wasn’t pack. Literally, the only reason he was even there was because of Liam. If he didn’t care about Liam, and more importantly, Liam didn’t care about him, he would not even be in Beacon Hills still. Hell, he’d probably be in hell with his sister.

He had to admit, being stuck with a pack who was never going to accept him was better than being in hell having his heart ripped out of his chest repeatedly.

So he toughed it out. He remained with the pack as long as Liam was close by in case someone were to ask what the hell he was even doing there. Logically, he knew it wasn’t going to happen but he was too paranoid not to consider it.

They were at a park, Malia and Liam had picked a fight, a playful one that wasn’t going to hurt anyone. Eventually, it turned into a snowball fight, one that got everyone but the concussed Stiles, Scott and Theo into.

Instead, Scott watched and laughed for just a moment staying close to his friend's side before he noticed Theo being all standoffish by a tree. Theo startled when the alpha approached him. “Hey,” Scott said, gentleness in his tone. He could see that Theo was uneasy around him and he had every reason to feel that way. But that didn’t mean Scott wanted him to. “Let’s go for a walk.”

There was no way Theo was going to ignore that order. He basically had no choice. Scott was the alpha and Theo wasn’t a part of the pack. But as they walked, feet crunching in the snow, there was no hostility between the two of them.

Just the sound of their heartbeats.

“You know-uh,” Scott said breaking the silence. “Liam told me you passed your GED test. That’s pretty cool.”

Theo held back a scoff. Attitude would only make him more hated than he already was. “I was supposed to graduate with you a year and a half ago. It’s not really that impressive.”

“No, Theo,” Scott said more adamantly. “I’m happy for you. I really am. I like to see you trying.”

Theo wasn’t even sure how he was supposed to respond to that. His mind analyzed what he’d said, the tone he’d said it in, trying to find some sort of hidden meaning but he didn’t really know how to do that.

“So how have things been back here in Beacon Hills?” Scott asked before Theo could try too hard.

Theo shrugged. “Decent. I guess there hasn’t been a whole lot of action on the supernatural side of things recently so that’s good.”

“What about Liam?” Scott asked. “Is he doing alright? I talk to him on the phone but he just always tells me everything is ok. I kinda want to hear it from someone else.”

Theo bobbed his head. “I mean, as far as I can tell, he’s doing OK. I think he’s bit worried about what he’s going to do with his life but… I don’t think that’s unusual for someone his age.”

Scott smiled at Theo and put a careful hand on the nape of his neck, squeezing it briefly. “Thanks for looking out for him,” Scott said. “I know he’s an adult now but… he’s still my beta. I worry sometimes.”

Theo bit his lip, trying not to tense at Scott’s touch which wasn’t that hard to do since the alpha had such a way with people, even people like Theo. “Um…” He had to ask the question that was prying him. He needed to know. “You’re not worried because of me, are you?”

“What?” Scott asked surprise of some kind in his voice.

“You’re not worried that I’m gonna… corrupt him?” Theo felt a little stupid now that he’d said it aloud. “I mean… I’m not saying that I would. I just… want to know what you think you’re worried about.” Theo’s words caught in his throat. He wasn’t sure why he’d even asked. Now he didn’t want to know the answer.

Scott let out the smallest chuckle. “Theo, I know you’re not going to hurt him,” Scott insisted. “And I can see that, without a doubt, the Theo that we all once knew and hated is as good as dead. I strongly believe in second chances and that’s exactly what I’m giving you. No strings attached.”

Theo couldn’t walk anymore. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Scott like he was crazy.

Scott sighed. “Look, Theo. You may not be pack and, the truth is, you might never be. At least not a part of my pack. But you are an ally. The others might not ever be ready to accept you and, as alpha, I have to respect that. But also, as alpha, I think that you and I can be friends like we once were in the fourth grade.”

Theo didn’t know whether that was supposed to make him feel good or bad. He already knew he could never be a part of Scott’s pack or, more specifically, Malia and Stiles’ pack. But it still hurt to have it told to your face.

As for Scott’s invitation to friendship, that made Theo feel a little more hopeful. He knew, strategically, that having a friend like Scott was smart. Scott was loyal and he was the kind of friend that would drop everything to help. As good as friendship was, Theo felt a stronger need to be a part of something.

He wanted to have a pack.

Theo sucked in a deep breath and tried his best to burry the painful emotions he was feeling. He could work them out later when he wasn’t around Scott’s pack. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever been friendzoned before.” At least, he tried to make light of it.

Scott smiled, a bit sadly, and put a hand on Theo’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t get to upset about it yet, Theo. I would totally use my alpha status on my pack to get you in if you weren’t already spoken for.”

The look of confusion on Theo’s face was invaluable.

Scott chuckled shaking his head. “Theo, you’re already a part of Liam’s pack.”

“But Liam’s not an alpha,” Theo reminded him, as if Scott didn’t know that.

“My experience is that you don’t need an alpha to become a pack,” Scott said oh-so-wisely. “But you do need a pack in order to become an alpha.” Scott patted Theo’s upper arm with a smirk. “Think of my pack as your cousins if it helps.”

Theo said the first thing that came to mind. “Stiles is not my cousin.”

Scott laughed as they headed back towards the rest of the McCall pack. Maybe not being a part of Scott’s pack wasn’t such a bad thing. Theo hadn’t really wanted to be a part of it in the first place, not with how he felt around them. But he felt the need to be a part of a pack and the McCall pack was the only pack he really knew of.

The idea of being a part of Liam’s pack was… much more appealing. It was like a dream come true, a dream he didn’t know he’d had.


	3. Chapter 3

Theo lay there, in his bed at the Geyer house, dangling the pendant he’d purchased by a leather cord in front of his face. He contemplated everything it could symbolize. He tried to justify why it meant something to him. He wanted an excuse for why he was looking at it whenever he was alone incase someone walked in on him.

But all he could see when he looked at it was himself and Liam. The only words he could think were “The sun, the moon”...

But what was the truth? Theo need the truth; otherwise, it was incomplete. The saying was ‘what three things cannot long be hidden’ not ‘what two things cannot long be hidden’.

Theo frowned, wishing the truth wasn’t such an arbitrary and ambiguous concept. It would be so nice if there was at least a universal symbol for truth like there was for the sun and the moon. The truth here was open for interpretation.

Theo sighed and put the pendant back where he’d been hiding it for the last week. He’d thought about it a lot and he decided that he knew for a fact he wanted to give it to Liam. But he knew what that would mean for them and it terrified him. How was he even supposed to go about giving someone a necklace anyways?

Little did he know, he’d end up with an example that very evening.

Liam barged into Theo’s room, not bother to knock. “Hey, my mom is making us watch a movie.”

Theo looked up at Liam, examining the annoyed look on his face and the near disgust in his voice. “Why does that sound like such a bad thing?”

“Because it’s a romance movie,” Liam answered as he walked into Theo’s room and grabbed his wrist. “And there is no way in hell that I’m going to watch it unless you have to sit through the torture too.”

Theo didn’t think the movie was that bad. A little awkward maybe but it wasn’t horrible to watch. It was some Christmas Hallmark movie that Jenna insisted they watch as a family. A family. Theo was still getting used to being included in that.

After a while, both of the boys started getting sleepy. Actually, Liam was sound asleep, snoring with his mouth wide open and everything. Theo was glad his snore was, at least, cute. Once he realized he thought it was cute, he reprimanded himself for letting himself think like that. He wasn’t supposed to find things cute. Especially things like Liam.

Just as Theo’s glared was directed from Liam to the TV, the male protagonist was placing a delicate necklace around the female’s neck. He wondered, ‘Is that how you’re supposed to give someone a necklace?’

Theo visibly cringed when the woman gasped at the sight of the necklace and turned around to give the man a hug. He hadn’t seen many movies but that seemed a bit cliche and, not to mention, overdramatic. There was no way he was going to do that with Liam. He didn’t even know why he’d considered it for a split second.

Theo wasn’t sure when it happened but, at some point, his head rested upon Liam’s lap and he fell asleep. He vaguely registered a blanket being tossed over the two of them, and a weight shifting to rest against his side before he fell completely asleep.

A few hours later, after the two of them had enough discomfort in the awkward positions, Liam stretched out, waking Theo up. “What are you doing?” he said, voice thick with sleep.

“Stretching,” Liam mumbled.

Theo propped himself up on his arms to glare at Liam. He let out a grunt of annoyance; although, it sounded more like a needy whimper.

“I need to be comfy,” Liam said wriggling out from under Theo and throwing his legs up on the edge of the couch next to Theo’s. He lay on his back, encroaching into Theo’s bubble. No. It was more than encroaching. He’d popped the bubble.

Theo wanted to get angry and push Liam away but he was too tired to care that much about it. So he just waited for the beta to settle down and ask, “Are you done?”

“... can I have some of the blanket?”

Theo sighed as he pulled the blanket out from the crack of the couch and adjusted it so it covered both of them. “Better?”

“Mhm,” the sleepy pup hummed.

Theo might have been groggy enough not to notice how extremely intimate the position they were in was, but he was able to notice how awkward it felt resting his head on Liam’s shoulder and laying his hand carefully on the boy’s chest.

He wasn’t going to let himself over think it though. He was tired and he should just go to sleep. As he dozed back to sleep, his fingers gently rubbed a circle over Liam’s chest. He could almost see it there, resting under his fingers, the pendant he’d bought that reminded him so much of the werewolf.

The pendant of the Sun, the Moon and them.

~~~

The first to wake was always Theo. Although neither of them were morning people, Theo had never been good at sleeping and got restless whenever he woke up. Liam, would lay in bed all day if he could.

Generally, the two were not a good combination in the morning. Liam was sleepy and very clingy to his bed and Theo was very, very snappy. For a while, Mrs. Geyer would go to wake them up but after the dirty looks she got from Theo for interrupting his morning routine and the whining she got from Liam for interrupting his beauty sleep, she employed Theo to wake Liam in the mornings.

That way she would not have to have her feelings hurt. Cause she only got thw whines and glares on the good mornings. More often than not, the boys would say something they didn’t mean because they were tired and hungry. So, instead of poking the bear, she fed it or, in this case, two hungry, teenaged werewolves. Actually, one wasn’t really a werewolf but “potato, potatoe”.

This particular morning was a bit different though. Mainly, since the boys were cuddling on the couch and Theo was on top of Liam constricting some of his airways. Liam woke up with the intentions to move whatever was on top of him but the moment his eyes opened, he couldn’t find it in himself.

Theo just looked so peaceful. And soft. Liam didn’t get to see him sleep very often. At least, not a peaceful slumber. Normally, the only sleeping version of Theo Liam really ever saw was when Theo was terrified in the middle of a nightmare. Liam would hear his rising heart rate, his panting, his whimpering, whatever it was that signaled he was in distress, and he would go wake him up. He’d earned a few bite and claw marks from that but he liked to think it helped Theo in the grand scheme of things.

Liam’s nose caught a hint of something that smelled nice, something sweet but musky at the same time. He went to suck in a deep breath but his chest was heavy probably from Theo’s weight on top of him. Part of Liam, was afraid to wake him up. He knew Theo wasn’t nice in the morning. But he was also hungry and… since when was he nice in the morning?

Liam shifted, prying Theo’s arm off of him and pulling his shoulder out from under the chimera. He thought he wouldn’t care about how Theo reacted to being woke up but the second Liam scooted his shoulder away, Theo startled and grabbed onto Liam in a panic.

Liam froze, eyes wide. He hadn’t expected to actually startle Theo. “Hey, it’s ok,” Liam said, awkwardly patting Theo’s arm.

Theo had the most hurt look on his face and he said in the most, un-Theo voice ever, “You scared me.” Liam didn’t know what to do with himself after that whine. He’d never seen Theo act so much like a… like a child.

“I’m sorry,” was all Liam could think to say. How could he dare move again after that? And when Theo proceeded to glare at him, sleep still present in his eyes, Liam defended himself. “I couldn’t breathe with you laying on top of me like that.”

Theo’s expression remained the same, tired and victimized. Liam didn’t know what Theo wanted. He was sure when he woke up that Theo would be pissed they were so close but when Liam tried to get away, Theo wasn’t too happy either.

What was with all the mixed signals?

Liam got his answer when Theo used his hands and feet to completely shove Liam off of the couch and stretch along the entire piece of furniture by himself. “Can you breathe now, puppy?” he asked dangling an arm off the edge of the couch, fingers brushing against Liam’s chest for a moment.

Liam sighed in annoyance. But he could breathe now so that was a good thing. “Yeah.”

Theo’s fingers danced along Liam’s maroon colored shirt playfully, like he was mimicking a spider. Liam frowned as he craned his neck to looked at Theo’s hand, his surprisingly dainty fingers tapping around sporadically. Liam cocked his chin up just as Theo’s head poked over the edge of the couch with just about the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.

For a moment the tapping stopped but then Theo pinched Liam’s nipple hard enough to leave a bruise or even a welt. “Ow!” Liam shouted as he pryed Theo’s hand off of his nipple and smacked it away.

Theo’s giggling was muffled by the couch cushion as Liam stood up. “Oh, you’re awake,” Liam’s mother said walking into the living room where they had been sleeping. “Just in time for breakfast. Good. Come on. Let’s get you fed before you get too snappy.”

Liam frowned down at Theo who was still giggling. Giggling. That was really the only thing to describe it. “You sound like the Pillsbury dough boy,” Liam said and that shut Theo up.

The chimera glared up at him. Now that’s the Theo he was used to seeing in the morning. Before either of them could pounce, Jenna shouted from the dining room to come and eat and Theo suddenly cared less about his new nickname than he did about his hunger.

“Tonight we’re going to drive around town and look at all the Christmas lights,” Jenna announced as she ate her breakfast with just the boys. Dr. Geyer was already at work.

“Why?” Theo asked, mouth entirely full of pancake.

Jenna sent him a look before she answered. “Because it’s a family tradition. We do it every year. Right, Liam?”

Liam who’d been wolfing down his breakfast looked up at her like he was lost. “...what?”

“The Christmas lights,” Jenna repeated.

“What about them?”

Theo scoffed. “Do you listen to anything we say?”

Liam raised an eyebrow and gave a half-hearted shrug. “... I’m eating right now.”

“It’s called multitasking, Liam,” Theo said in between bites.

Jenna sighed. “Yeah, Liam. Theo’s really good at it. Although, I do appreciate that you don’t talk with your mouth full.” She had a way of making each of them feel both a little guilty and a little good about themselves at the same time. “Anyways, David was wondering if we could take Theo’s truck tonight.-”

“Nobody’s driving my truck but me,” Theo declared.

“Well, you are coming with so I didn’t think that would be a problem,” Jenna reminded him. It was kinda funny the way Theo had become so protective over his truck. After everything that happened and being set free from both hell and the Dread Doctors, Theo had to work on finding his own personality. Sure, there were a lot of things that had always been Theo and always will be but there were some things Theo was learning he could change about himself if he wanted to.

“And were’ going to look at lights?” Theo asked, doubt clear in his tone.

“Yeah,” said Liam. “It’s not as boring as it sounds. Besides, who cares if it’s boring? It’s better than sitting around the house all night.”

Theo sighed. “OK. Fine. I guess I’ll take us to go see the Christmas lights.”

Jenna then proceeded to start daydreaming aloud about how it would be like her and David were being chauffeured around the town. And sure enough, later that night, Theo was driving them around town about five miles an hour while they looked at houses that had been decked out with Christmas lights.

It wasn’t that bad but two hours into it the boys started arguing about the dumbest things and Liam’s parents realized they were probably hungry. Once they got them some burgers and fries everything was just fine. Theo didn’t really find the appeal in looking at the Christmas lights though. Apparently, neither did Liam because he was staring at his phone the entire time texting someone. Mason, no doubt.

And something was up to, Theo could tell. When Liam finally set his phone down, he had a nervous smile on his face. “What’s up?”

Liam tried to suppress the smile. “Nothing.” When he couldn’t suppress the grin, he exaggerated it instead. “I just really like the lights.”

Now that was a lie. Theo knew. So what was he really talking to Mason about? And was it really Mason? Theo wanted to know. He had to know. He was really good at figuring that stuff out too. He could totally wait until they got home to press Liam and get some answers but… it seemed unnecessary. He trusted Liam. And whatever it was that was making him smile, he knew it was either something unimportant or Liam would tell him eventually. So he let it go.

~~~

Liam and Theo had spent a few hours at the clinic again, playing with and feeding the batch of kittens. This time, Theo ventured beyond his favorite little marshmallow kitty and played with some of the others but, ultimately, he just wanted to stick poor little S’mores head in his mouth. Liam asked him why he kept doing that and Theo started to say it was because she was so cute he could eat her but then he must’ve decided that was too vulnerable of a thing to say so he just said it was because he was hungry.

Liam knew he wasn’t telling the truth though. He knew S’mores was going to be the best thing that ever happened to Theo. Well… he thought she was. Little did he know, she was actually going to be the second best thing that happened to Theo.

~~~

Liam had left no room for argument when he told Theo they were going to stay up late watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate until they fell asleep. Liam would’ve loved to use the living room to watch the movies but Liam’s parents were having a night-in and watching some romance movie they’d rented. So they’d been banned from going anywhere other than their bedrooms and their bathroom.

When Theo walked in he couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Liam wearing Superman pajamas. His bottoms were the classic Superman blue with the Superman ‘S’ imprinted all over them and the top was white button up shirt that was made to look like it was opening up to reveal his super suit. “Mr. Kent,” Theo drawled. “Or should I say, Superman?”

Liam looked up from his phone as he sat up. “What?” Liam looked down at his pajamas. “Oh. Uh…” Then he looked up to find Theo wearing a Batman shirt, his Batman shirt to be exact. “Hey, that’s my shirt, Theo. I thought I lost it.”

Theo scoffed. “Theo? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m Batman,” he said.

Liam raised an eyebrow and looked down at Theo’s bottom half only to find a pair of plain, black boxer briefs. “Batman’s not wearing any pants.”

“That’s Bruce Wayne’s fault,” Theo said as he walked in and hoped on Liam’s bed.

“Well, then Bruce Wayne needs to work on his manners-”

“Bruce Wayne can do whatever he wants because he’s rich and has a Buttler.” That comment earned a strange look from Liam, like he was trying to understand something. Theo sighed. “What? I used to be a nerd, Liam. I know everything about comic books.”

Then Liam smiled. Now that was a good enough Christmas present to last him a few years. “I think you’re still a little bit of a nerd,” Liam told him.

Theo scoffed and thumped Liam on the chest. “You’re one to talk, Superman.”

Liam chuckled and put his hands up in defense. “Hey, I never said I wasn’t a nerd. Has my mom seriously not told you about my comic book collection in the attic?”

Theo propped himself up on his elbows and gave Liam an incredulous look. “What the hell are comic books doing in the attic?”

“Well, I kinda got busy with school and being a werewolf… and having anger issues,” Liam trailed off. “I didn’t want them taking up space in my room. Not to mention, I kinda wanted a girlfriend and girls don’t really like it when guys are obsessed with comic books.”

Theo bit his lip and hummed. “Yeah. I get that kinda. I mean… when I was a little kid I was obsessed with Superheroes and I would’ve loved to become one.” The air shifted when something inside of Theo became bitter, dark. “Imagine my excitement when the Dread Doctors told me I could become one.”

And suddenly, Liam’s gift was no longer a gift but a curse. He’d never heard Theo explain it that way. Theo had talked to him about the Dread Doctors and about a lot of what they did to brainwash him but he’d ever given him this vulnerable piece of information. Liam knew Theo was a kid when they came into the picture but… Theo was really just a kid. He had no idea what their real intentions were.

“All that pain just to become the villain,” Theo continued, giving his head a shake.

“You probably believed that in order to become a hero you would need a tragic backstory, huh?” Liam said carefully. He knew he was walking on ice already but Theo had brought it up. Maybe he would be ready for that.

“Yeah. I guess,” Theo said. “I should’ve realized that villains have tragic backstories too. I think I knew it. I was just being stupid.”

“I don’t think you’re a villain,” Liam offered. And it was true. Liam used to think Theo was the worst but now he couldn’t think like that. “Not anymore. I think some of the coolest superheroes are the ones who were bad guys first. Like Black Widow. Or Christ Argent.” Theo turned his head to squint at Liam who seemed to be jumping back and forth between comic books and reality. “And Peter Hale. And even Derek Hale. And maybe a little bit Malia Hale.”

“You think I’m like Black Widow?”

Liam shrugged in response. “Besides, every hero has a dark side. Even Superman. One time, he shattered Batman’s spine. Stiles has a dark side. I have a dark side. Heck, even Scott has a dark side. Maybe you’re an antihero, like Deadpool.”

Theo laid back against the pillow on Liam’s bed and tapped his fingers against his stomach. “Yeah. I can see that.”

“I think you’re like Batman,” Liam said. “He’s kinda in between ‘Hero’ and ‘antihero’.”

Theo chuckled. “And I think you’re like Superman.”

“Yeah. Right.”

“I’m serious,” Theo said. “You’re like Superman… on Red Kryptonite. At least, when you’re angry. When you’re not angry, you’re a classic Clark Kent.”

That lead to them both laughing for a moment before they just laid there smiling at each other. Liam wanted to ask why Theo had taken his shirt in the first place but he decided against it. He wanted Theo to watch “A Christmas Carol” so he could see just how much he was like Scrooge, another villain turned hero if you will.

Liam suddenly sat up and spun around to grab two giant mugs, one of them over flowing with marshmallows. He passed that one to Theo and said, “I know how you feel about marshmallows so I made this one special for you.” Liam even went as far as to wink at the chimera.

“What?” Theo said taking the mug and sitting up, scooting so his back was against the wall. “I never said anything about liking marshmallows.”

Liam smirked and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. “You like marshmallow kitty,” Liam said and that made Theo smile like crazy. But he tried to hide it by taking a sip from his mug. Liam could see the smile in his eyes though.

After they watched a muppets Christmas Carol, Theo was offended that Liam thought he was like Scrooge and they argued with each other about it for a while before Liam put in Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer. A few minutes into it and Theo was covering his eyes with a pillow telling Liam to turn it off because the animation was creeping him out.

So Liam teased him as he put in a different movie, something a little more realistic. It was a Christmas Comedy and, apparently, neither of them really found it that funny because they fell asleep, not too far into it.

The TV eventually turned off on its own, leaving the room dark and the house totally silent. The only sound was that of Liam’s faint snoring. At least, until there was more to be heard. And when Liam heard it, his snoring stopped. A faint beating noise that got faster and louder. For a moment he thought that he was hearing the sound of hooves on the roof top. But then he recognized it, a heart beat.

Theo’s.

Liam turned his head to check on the other boy. His features weren’t like they were the morning they woke up on the couch. Instead, they were tense, they defensive, they were distressed and pained.

He was having a nightmare.

Liam sat up, clearing his throat a bit. If he could wake him without touching him, that would be the best route. He would rather not get attacked by those sharp claws or bitten with those razor-edged fangs. “Theo,” he said, first a whispered. When nothing changed, he repeated himself a few times, adding the slightest amount of volume each time he said it.

The rate of Theo’s breathing increased and he stirred the tiniest bit. He was going to have to touch him. Liam hated it when this happened to Theo. He moved his hand to gently rest on Theo’s arm but stopped himself. He moved his hand upward towards the chimer’s face. Carefully, he brushed some of his hair back, lightly touching his forehead with his fingers and then running it into his hair.

Theo’s body tensed at first, his arms wrapping around his own chest… but as Liam continued to pulse his fingers up and down Theo’s scalp, the chimera’s temperament changed. His breathing started to even out, his muscles started to relax, and even his heart rate started to slow.

For a few minutes, Liam continued, intent on making the nightmare go away instead of just bringing reality back to Theo while he was still panicking. Just when Theo’s heart rate was returning to normal and Liam thought he was in the clear, Theo gasped and rolled onto his side, facing Liam.

“Hey, it’s ok,” Liam said. “You were just having a nightmare. It wasn’t real.”

Theo’s face did that thing again, so vulnerable and soft. His eyes were even a little watery like maybe he was about to cry. It was the first time he’d managed to wake Theo from a nightmare with out getting clawed or bitten. But somehow, it still didn’t seem like a victory. Maybe because Theo still seemed terrified. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice higher than normal and weak.

Liam’s hand was still in his hair, brushing his back, stimulating his scalp. “It’s not your fault,” Liam said. “I’m not mad. I’m just glad you didn’t bite me this time.” He was hoping to get a laugh from Theo, an attempt at lightening the mood but all he got was a serious nod. That meant Theo didn’t like bitting Liam anymore than Liam liked being bitten.

Liam adjusted himself and pulled some more blankets over them laying down on his back. “Just try and get some sleep now.” Liam was surprised when Theo planted himself closer to Liam, almost as close as they had been on the couch. He was propped up on his elbow, fingers grabbing Liam’s shirt, pinching the fabric. But that’s all he did.

Staring down at his fingers, muscles still tense, hands even a little shaky. He very tentatively looked at Liam. Liam knew he was begging him for something but he didn’t know what. He wished Theo would just tell him. He barely managed to look Liam in the eyes for two seconds before his breath hitched and he looked back at his hands and a tear fell from his eyes onto Liam’s shirt.

Liam couldn’t just watch as Theo struggled with whatever was going on inside of him. He pulled Theo down by his head so they were close and the chimera could dry whatever tears he had with his Superman shirt.

Apparently, that’s what Theo wanted because he wrapped his arms around Liam’s torso and buried his face in his pajamas. He didn’t cry that much; he wasn’t a crier. But having someone to hold made it a lot easier.


	4. Chapter 4

Liam woke up with something tickling his face. At first, he was convinced it was just his hair moving on its own but when a small section of his bangs were pulled on repeatedly he knew it wasn’t that.

Opening his eyes, he saw Theo’s face above his, with a faint smirk. Liam squinted up at him as the chimera straightened out the piece of his hair and wrapped it around his finger. It literally made no sense what he was doing. Theo’s expression changed from a faint smirk to a bright smile when he realized Liam was awake. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Liam mumbled prying his jaw open. He wasn’t ready to wake up but having his hair played with was distracting him. “What are you doing?”

Theo shrugged. “Nothing.”

Liam sighed and reached his hand up to pull Theo’s away from his hair but Theo told him not to. “What are you doing to my hair?”

“Relax, Superman,” Theo said. “I’m fixing it.”

Liam furrowed his brows. What could that possibly mean? “Wait…” Liam remembered that iconic curl Superman had that hung over his forehead. “Theo, stop,” Liam said grabbing Theo’s wrists and pushing him off.

Theo’s finger slipped out of Liam’s hair leaving a perfect little curlicue. Liam looked up at it cross-eyed and Theo bit his lip to keep from laughing. Liam was not pleased so he launched himself up from the mattress and shoved Theo down onto it, playfully. Which made Theo start laughing as Liam was looming over him.

Theo struggled to set himself free. When his arms wouldn’t give, he tried his legs and found that they would wrap around Liam’s waist. If he really wanted, he could flip them over but, instead, he let Liam pin him down. He was curious what he’d do if Theo stopped fighting back.

As Liam pinned his little chimera wrists to the bed, Theo looked up at him. There was that soft expression again. He was looking at Liam so softly yet so intensely. It was confusing. “What are you looking at?”

Theo’s eyes trailed from Liam’s eyes to his lips. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to kiss him. He kinda hoped Liam would do it at least, so he knew what he was missing out on. When he looked back to Liam’s eyes, what he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Liam was looking at his lips. Maybe Liam was thinking the same thing he was.

There was a moment when Liam knew he’d been caught looking. He was afraid to look Theo in the eyes after that. But his courage returned when he released one of Theo’s hands, allowing the chimera to reach his hand up to Liam’s face. The gentle pull from Theo was subtle; it could’ve been ignored easily. But Liam wasn’t looking to ignore it. It was what he needed to actually make a move. Theo was making it clear that it was his job to do so.

Liam remained where he was, feeling the gentle strokes of Theo’s fingers in his hair. Finally, he released the other hand so Theo could wrap it around his shoulders too. He was almost wrapped entirely around Liam now. A little bit closer and he would be.

It was slow, Liam’s gravitation towards Theo. Both of them were tentative, a little nervous too. But, at last, Liam could feel Theo’s breath hitting his lips. And their noses were touching too. Liam was going to do it. He was going to kiss Theo on the lips.

There was a banging sound on the door and the boys startled, launching away from each other as the door being flung open. “Liam, I need you to-” Jenna noticed Theo sitting on the bed with his knees up to his chest. “Oh. Hi, Theo. I didn’t know you were in here.”

Theo gave her a silent wave and a nod.

“I need you boys to go,” she said. “I’m going to be wrapping presents and filling stockings all morning. You can go out and find something fun to do, can’t you?”

Liam, who was blushing like crazy, looked at Theo hesitantly. Theo, who was also behaving a bit unusual, understandably so, looked at Liam as well.

Jenna cleared her throat. “Did something happen?”

Liam crossed his arms and shook his head. “No.”

Jenna was not going to believe Liam for a second. So she then turned to Theo. “What happened?”

Theo pursed his lips, shaking his head as well. “Nothing.”

Jenna sighed. “Alright. Fine. Don’t tell me. But you guys better have one heck of a Christmas present for me if you’ve been getting into trouble.” With that, she was off to go take care of mom things.

Right away, Liam started to get ready. Theo turned and let his feet dangle off the edge of the bed. He wanted Liam to talk to him about what had just happened but, to him, it was obvious that Liam didn’t want to talk about it. So he quickly made himself scarce and went to his room to get ready.

It didn’t take long for Liam to come in like he owned the place. “We can talk about it,” Liam said. Because he’d developed the ability to read minds apparently.

Theo looked at him, slipping his arms into a flannel shirt. “Talk about what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Theo. You know what I’m talking about,” Liam said, a bit of anger rising in his voice.

Theo sighed. “Look, can we… save it for another time?” He finished buttoning up his shirt and picked up a pair of shoes from the floor. “I have to buy your mom a Christmas present.”

Liam didn’t know why he’d been getting angry. His IED did that to him sometimes. But Theo was good at making it go away. It was like he didn’t even try. Liam sat on the bed next to Theo as the boy tied his shoes. “You haven’t gotten her anything?”

Theo sat up, done with his shoes. “Nope. The only time I went shopping was when I was with her so I couldn’t exactly get her anything.”

Liam felt a little panicked himself. There were only a few days until Christmas and Theo still had to get her something for Christmas. It wasn’t very likely they’d be able to find something nice in the stores. But how would Theo know that? He hated Christmas.

Liam doubted he hated it now though. Well… in this moment he probably wasn’t particularly fond of it.

“You wanna chip in with the gift I got her?” Liam offered.

Theo scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I doubt she’d believe I had anything to do with it.”

Liam smiled. “You’d be surprised. You wanna see what I got her?” Before Theo could answer, Liam was pulling him across the hall back into the other bedroom and opening the drawer beside his bed. He pulled out a small gift box and sat down on the bed.

Once Theo joined him, he opened it up and there inside was a necklace with a golden chain. On the chain was a larger silver piece shaped like a bear and behind it were two smaller golden bears.

“I got her one when I was little but it just had one baby bear.” When Liam looked up at Theo, he was smiling. “She needs a new one now cause your her baby bear too.”

“Her baby bear?”

Liam huffed a laugh. “Yeah. She loves you as if you’re one of her own. You have a special place in her heart, Theo. You always will, no matter what.”

This was all news to Theo. Maybe if he’d paid closer attention, then he’d have realized that Jenna was basically his mom.

… “But doesn’t that make us like brothers?”

Liam looked at him for a second. “No. Definitely not. I mean, I’ll always be her baby bear but you’re the baby bear that she took in. Only after I drug you home.” Liam poked Theo’s side. There wasn’t anything wrong with them being brothers. In a way they kinda were. But there was something between them that was not brotherly at all. “The point is, Theo, you’re a part of my family now.” Liam bit his lip for a second, biting a smile down. “You’re pack.”

Just like Scott had told him.

Theo looked down at his lap and nodded. “I know.” He twiddled his thumbs for a moment before he looked back up at Liam. “Scott told me.” Theo put the lid back on the gift box and smile at Liam. “Thanks.”

~~~

“You’re supposed to open it, Theo,” Liam told him as the boy stared at the gift that had been thrust into his hands. “Come on, we’ll do it at the same time.”

It was Christmas Eve and everyone was opening their Christmas Eve gift. It was no surprise. They always got Pajamas. But Theo was being very persistent about not opening his present. He probably wasn’t a fan of all the pressure that was being put on him. If only he knew, it was all for fun.

Theo managed to open his present and discover none other than a pair of pajamas! Who would have guessed? Liam exaggerated how surprised he was to find the pajamas which made Theo laugh. “Normally, we only do one present on Christmas Eve but this year is special.” Jenna handed each of the boys another gift, one that was bigger than the last but it wasn’t heavy.

Each of them got a soft, velvety blanket that had been hand crocheted by Jenna herself. When she found time to do it, no one would know. Theo barely touched his with his fingers and nearly jumped at how soft it was. He looked up at Jenna from his spot on the floor, expression thoughtful and unblinking. “You made this?” he asked, that vulnerability that was usually only ever seen by Liam showing through. When Jenna nodded, Theo’s eyes started to well up with tears. “Why?”

Jenna smiled and said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Because I love you, Theo.”

The words hit Theo like a freight train. He couldn’t tell if it was good or bad at first but when one of those tears set itself free of their eye-lid prison, he was skeptical of how something good could possibly make him cry.

But Jenna loved him.

Theo was loved. And that was really the only thing Theo could’ve asked for for Christmas. It was the only thing he was really missing, the thing he wanted all this time. What he needed was to be loved and to know he was loved.

“Thank you,” he said, voice thick with emotion. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes to try and get that yuck out of his way. Theo felt a little humiliated when he let out a bit of a choked sob. “Sorry.”

Jenna held her arms out to him. “Oh come here, sweetie. It’s ok.”

Theo was surprised at how easy it was for him to gravitate onto the couch next to her and let her wrap her arms around him and give him little kisses and tell him he was part of the family just like Liam had a few days before. Sure, it had meant something when Liam had told him but having Jenna make a blanket for him meant she’d been thinking of him as family for a long time. That’s what really did him in.

Liam watched in awe as Theo practically melted into his mom’s arms, wrapping himself around her like he was her little bear cub. Suddenly, he wondered what he was doing sitting on the floor and watching. He got up and sat on the other side of Theo and hugged him from the other side. Theo gave him a wary glance. And Then David joined in on the family group hug.

Liam smiled when his parents finally pulled away to give Theo some space. He nudged Theo a little bit. “Do you still hate Christmas?”

Theo sniffled and wiped his eyes again and said, “Yes.”

“What?” Liam whined.

“It made me cry,” Theo argued, voice a little high with emotion. But he was being cute now. “I don’t like crying.”

“So you don’t hate Christmas; you hate crying,” Liam offered. When he got a half shrug from Theo, he took that as a good enough answer. “Well, then my job is done. I got Theo to like Christmas!”

Theo elbowed him. “Stop it.”

Liam chuckled and got off the couch, picking up Theo’s presents he’d opened that night and handing it to him. “Come on now. We’re all supposed to go change into our new Christmas PJs.” Liam pulled Theo up by his wrist and tugged him along towards their bedrooms. “And then we’re going to play some board games-”

“Actually, Liam Honey,” Jenna called. “David and I are going to go to bed early. He has to go in for a surgery around ten tomorrow morning.”

Liam turned around, a pout on his lips just like that of a little babe. “But we do it every Christmas.”

“I know. I’m sorry, kiddo,” David said. “I wish there was something I could do but the surgery is a bit urgent.”

“It’s all part of growing up, Liam,” Jenna said getting up from her seat and walking over to the boys. “But there’s no reason you two can’t stay up and play some games if you want. Although, since David has to leave around ten, we’re probably going to start things a bit earlier than normal.”

Liam’s mother gave him a kiss on the forehead before wishing them a good night and a Merry Christmas. Liam sighed and looked at Theo. “You wanna play any games?” Theo shrugged, still winding down from the emotional night. “Right. Well, I’m gonna go change.”

Theo watched as Liam disappear in his room before Theo entered his own and closed the door. He took a deep breath before he started removing his clothes, trying to relax and process some of the things that were happening. He put on the navy blue plaid pajamas he’d been given. They all had the same ones just different colors. Liam’s was a deep maroon. Jenna’s was was white with red and green accents, and David’s was a forest green.

Jenna was really into coordinating things, wasn’t she? She’d made Theo’s blanket a Navy Blue color, just like his pajamas were. And she’d done the same with Liam, but maroon. And then there was the way she’d coordinated David’s gifts so that they were all related. There was even a specific order that everything had to be opened.

Was this what having a family was like? Having people who would do anything for each other? It was an awful lot like he’d expected a pack to be. Maybe that’s what Scott was talking about, Liam’s pack. It was his family.

He sat down on the floor next to his bed and pulled the pendant out by its leather cord, dangling it in front of him.

Theo could see it now. It should’ve been obvious to him but he was so blind. The Sun, the Moon, the Truth.

The truth was whatever they needed it to be in that moment. And right now, the truth was that Theo was a part of Liam’s pack and he was loved. And more important than that, he loved them too. The love he had for Liam was special though. That’s why he wanted him to have the necklace, he wanted to show him that he loved him. Cause he could say it but tonight he learned from Jenna that showing someone you loved them is what really matters.

His head perked up when there was a faint knock on the door. He found Liam’s head poking inside the door and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Liam said. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Theo said getting off of the floor and sitting on his bed. He looked down at the pendant again. He wondered if he should’ve hidden it before he said that. But… maybe now was a good time to give it to him. He would prefer to give something that special to Liam in private.

“Watcha got there?” Liam asked coming to join Theo on the bed.

Theo pulled his feet up on the bed and tucked them under each other, clasping the pendant in his hand. “Um… it’s actually something I want to give you.”

Liam glanced down at Theo’s hand that was hiding what was in his hand before he looked up at Theo with a grin. “Like a Christmas present?” When Theo gave a half shrug, like he often did, Liam said, “You know you’re supposed to wrap them right?”

Theo shook his head. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it,” Theo explained, eyes trailing from his hands to Liam’s face. “But now I know I want you to have it. Cause we’re pack.”

Liam smiled. “You’re not going to wait until tomorrow?”

Theo shook his head again and took a deep breath. “No. I want to give it to you now because…” The look on Theo’s face was almost apologetic. “Cause it’s just us.”

Liam’s smile faded at the realization. That meant whatever Theo was giving him, it was very special. “OK,” he said, voice going a little quiet.

They sat there on Theo’s bed, getting lost in each other’s eyes for a moment. At the same time, their eyes glanced at each other’s lips again. Theo wanted to blush from the attention but hid it by trying to distract Liam. He grabbed one of Liam’s hands and slipped the pendant into it.

Liam had to force himself to look down because… well, looking at Theo was enough of a Christmas gift in his opinion. What he saw stopped his heart for a moment. Two wolves, a black and a white one, forming a Yin Yang symbol. It was more than just two wolves; it was him and Theo. That’s what he saw.

“When I saw it, I couldn’t help but grab it. I saw it and it just made me think of you,” Theo explained, emotion still in his voice. It wasn’t as dominant as it had been earlier when he’d been crying but it was still there. Theo’s fingers were there suddenly, on top of the pendant, gently dancing and brushing them along. He pointed to the circle that belonged to the dark wolf, “The sun…” His finger shifted. “The moon…”

“And us,” Liam said, bring Theo to a halt. Looking up at each other, their eyes bore into each other’s souls. Theo wasn’t entirely sure what he’d been about to say but… Liam was spot on.

“Us,” Theo whispered, eyes sparkling and wide.

“Thank you.”

Theo was a bit tense, probably from nerves. He took another deep breath and nodded. “I love you,” he said, just like Jenna had, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It happened to fast. Liam’s hand found the back of Theo’s head, in his hair, as he leaned in. And then their lips finally met! Theo was quick to return the kiss, wrapping his arms around Liam and pulling him closer. The kiss was deep and passionate and long overdue. Liam pulled back, both of his hands now in Theo’s hair holding their foreheads together. “I don’t know about you but this is shaping up to be a pretty good Christmas.”

Theo, who was tearing up again, nodded with a bright smile on his face. “Best one I’ve ever had.”

“Good,” Liam said lowering his hands and placing them on Theo’s back giving it a good rub. “Because there’s plenty more where that came from.”

Theo grinned, making himself a little more comfortable by on crossing his legs and allowing one to rest over Liam’s lap. There they were again, staring into each other’s eyes. And then more kisses came. They were different than before. They weren’t full of the same kind of passion as before. And they weren’t full of heat either. They were excited kisses, like the kind of kisses someone gets from their puppy when they come home to see them. Liam started the pecks on Theo’s lips before he peppered them on his cheeks, his chin, his neck, and even his ear.

Theo shivered with laughter, pushing at Liam’s shoulders to get him to stop. “Down boy,” Theo said.

“I’m sorry,” Liam said with a huge smile on his face. But he wasn’t sorry. He was … well, an excited puppy. He’d finally managed to work his way into Theo’s heart. And, by the grace of God, he even got him to like Christmas.

Theo rolled his eyes. “Just so you know, this is your real present,” Theo said tapping on Liam’s pendant. “What’s under the tree is kind of just something silly. Although…” Theo’s eyes raked over Liam’s body suggestively. “...with the new development in our relationship, maybe we’ll both get to enjoy it.”

Liam frowned. “Wait… what did you get me?”

“What did you get me?”

Liam’s cheeks flushed pink and he smiled that classic Liam smile. “I guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out, won’t you? But until then, I can give you this,” Liam said and then gave Theo another kiss on the lips. And, boy, Liam was an amazing kisser. Theo should’ve known by how big his lips were. And his tongue. Theo had no idea a tongue could do those things and to him, of all people.

Suddenly, Liam pulled away leaving Theo wanting more. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” Liam asked.

At least Theo there was that. “Yeah. On one condition though.”

There was a pause.

“Keep kissing me like that.”

Liam bit his lip, running his hand along Theo’s thigh. There was another pregnant pause. And then Liam kissed him again. And again and again and again, all night long.

~~~

Liam woke up early in the morning all on his own. He took in a deep breath and that’s what reminded him that he wasn’t in his own room. He’d spent the night with Theo. A smile crept onto his face at the memory.

Opening his eyes, he saw Theo staring at him with a smile of anticipation propped up on his elbows. What a cutie? “Hi,” Liam said. “We’ve gotta stop meeting like this.”

Theo huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” Theo leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Liam’s lips. “Merry Christmas, Superman.”

Liam pulled Theo downward by the back of his head and into a kiss. “Merry Christmas.” Liam kissed Theo similar to the way he had last night… with the tongue and… and those lips and…

Theo moaned into the kissed and pulled away. “Who knew Superman was such a good kisser?”

Liam bobbed his head in consideration. “Probably Lois Lane.”

Theo rolled his eyes and smacked Liam on the chest. “I’m not Lois Lane.”

“No,” Liam agreed. “No. You’re not.” Theo raised an eyebrow at Liam. “You’re Batman. I thought we covered this.”

“Batman and Superman make out?”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “There’s a ton of fanfiction about it, not that I’ve read any of it.” That made Theo laugh. Typically, someone wouldn’t know there was fanfiction about someone unless they actually took part in some sort of fandom. “What? I’m serious. They’re called Superbat and, if you think about it, it’s actually pretty hot.”

“Shut up,” Theo begged. “You’re just making yourself seem even nerdier than you already are.”

“You started it by calling me Superman,” Liam retorted.

“Do I need to make you shut up by using my Bat-tape on your mouth?”

“And you’re calling me a nerd?”

With that, Theo did shut him up… but not with his so-called “Bat-tape”. He used his lips. Apparently, Bat-tape was just another name for lips?

Also, at least this time when Jenna barged in on them they were already kissing. Is that a good thing? There was a quiet knock on the door before she opened it. At least she gave them a little bit of a warning but not enough of one that they were able to pull away from each other without her seeing.

They pulled back, lips kiss-swollen and cheeks blushing. Jenna’s face was one of surprise. “Oh…” she said awkwardly. The air was thick with tension, neither boy brave enough to try and explain what she’d seen. “Well, I see somebody is already celebrating without us.”

“Mom,” Liam pleaded but Jenna silenced him with a hand in the air.

“Come downstairs for breakfast. We’re opening stalkings soon.” Liam and Theo looked at each other, not knowing whether they should be relieved or even more terrified that Jenna didn’t mention it. “And, by the way…” Jenna said earning their attention again. “This?” She pointed between the two of them.

Both of their hearts skipped a beat in fear…. Or at least some sort of negative emotion. They’d never really been concerned about Liam’s parents disapproving of… whatever was going on between them.

But when Jenna said, “It’s cute,” with a smile on her face, they could breathe again. But as she was leaving the room and closing the door they heard her mumble, “And it’s about damn time.”

When the boys got downstairs, they knew by the silence in the room that Jenna had told David. While they dished up their breakfast, it was quiet except for the few mundane whispers that Liam and Theo exchanged. David and Jenna teased the two of them over breakfast a little before they sat in front of the fireplace to open stockings.

After they all put everything back in their stockings, they began to open presents in the specific order that Jenna had come up with. After David and Liam opened a gift, it was Theo’s turn. The first gift was from David and was a bunch of S’more fixings: regular graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers, regular marshmallows, extra big marshmallows, and all kinds of chocolate bars. He did find it a bit weird but it made a little sense since he had a bit of an obsession with marshmallows. And who doesn’t like chocolate?

Then Jenna opened her gift from Liam and Theo. She gasped at the sight. “Oh my.”

“I had to get you a new one cause Theo’s a part of the family now,” Liam explained.

“Oh boys,” she said. “That’s so sweet. Thank you.”

Another round of gifts were opened and this time, Liam opened his gift from Theo, six pack of goofy Christmas boxers. And then Theo’s second gift was opened. He looked at some of it confused though. Liam quickly snuck out of the room to go fetch something.

There was a rubbermaid box with a bunch of stuff in it. At first glance, it looked like nothing significant. But when he picked up a small tin can and read it he tilted his head in confusion. “Cat food? But I don’t have a…”

Theo heard Liam’s feet coming from behind him and turned to see the boy holding a box that had been wrapped with red paper covered in little orange and black kittens. Liam sat next to him and placed the box in Theo’s lap. “This is your present from me.”

Theo looked down at the box. All he had to do was take the lid off to have his suspicions confirmed. But he looked up at Liam… in horror? “You didn’t…”

“Just open it,” Liam told him.

Theo slowly pulled back the lid and dropped it back down when he saw those bright blue eyes and the S’more colored fur. “Liam.”

Liam pulled the lid all the way off for him and she poked her head out. “It’s your marshmallow kitty.”

Theo was already on the verge of crying. He looked at David. “Is that why you got me the S’more stuff?” When David nodded and the kitten meowed, Theo sniffled and wiped at his eyes. “Oh my god. You guys are insane.” He picked up the baby kitty and held her up to his face.

“Well, you’re already a part of the family so you’re stuck with us now,” David informed him.

Theo held the kitten up to his chest and turned to Liam. “Thank you,” he said smiling.

“You’re welcome.”

Theo spent the rest of Christmas day cuddling and playing with his kitten, S’mores. He wasn’t going to say he liked Christmas as a whole but this Christmas was definitely the best out of all of them. He got a family. And Liam kissed him… a lot and given him a kitten. There were some other things about the holiday season that he wasn’t going to complain about but they weren’t at the top of his list. Maybe they would be next year.

For the time being, being a part of his new pack was more than Theo thought he could’ve ever asked for. And it was certainly more than he deserved. He thought about how he’d always felt like he never got a chance and maybe he hadn’t. But after this Christmas, he realized that there was definitely a lot more grace and happiness in his life now that he had Liam than there was before.

And from then on it would always be the Sun, the Moon…

...and them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this piece and that it was a good Christmas gift! Please leave a comment down below and spread some holiday cheer! Thanks.
> 
> MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
> 
> Love,  
> Robin


End file.
